Waterman Rises

Isabella Waterman wasn’t even meant to be in the side, let alone this important.

The rugby convert could have been anyone’s winger. She only joined the Raiders in March of 2025 after Shak Tungai decided to sit out the season for personal reasons. At that point Waterman had already spent time with the Knights in their 2024 grand final run after transitioning from the other code. She played only one game for the Knights, and then was on the outer. In her words:

I was looking to get back into the NRLW, I wasn’t sure how

Sometimes fortune smiles on the needy. Teams with more resources and more non-cap-based advantages like the Roosters or the Broncos could have signed Waterman. She could have sat behind a litany of stars all fighting for minutes. But it was clear she wanted a pathway to first grade. So, Waterman came to the Raiders. At the time Coach Borthwick noted the luck of timing:

I’m happy to get her here, she’s played Super Rugby and got an opportunity at the Knights last year. I think she’s very hungry…I think we are getting her at a good time

She wasn’t meant to be the plan, but she was an opportunity. Seven games last season showed her worth, but didn’t guarantee her position. She didn’t even start for the Milk at the beginning of this year. Elise Simpson was preferred, and starred on the wing. Waterman only got on to the field when Bobbi Law got injured, then transferred across to wing when Simpson’s season was cruelly ended by fate.

Waterman’s impact has hardly been unsung. Anyone watching the games will notice the power she runs with, her safety under high kicks, and her finishing abilities on the wing. With Sherridan Gallagher, Mackenzie Wiki, and Leaane Tufuga she forms part of a back five of head-stomping yardage work that sets up the Milk to compete with any team through the middle. In the Rugby League Eye Test’s NRLW player contribution rating she comes in at 16 in the league this season, nestled comfortably ahead of former Dally M winner and Origin legend Olivia Kernick.

It harkens back to the best Raiders’ teams of recent years which have utilised players like Rapana, Tamale, Cotric etc to blast their way out of trouble. The Raiders certainly hadn’t banked on requiring it this year, but in the Tigers game, as noted in Rob’s Wreview, this became increasingly important. The combination punch of the back five puts Canberra on the advantage so often, increasing the energy middle forwards can put into their runs, and importantly, defence. Waterman has fit in perfectly.

But it also speaks to the importance, and challenge, of depth in the nascent NRLW. The still semi-professional nature of the league (hey Vlando, what if instead of NRL World we paid the women properly?). Losing first choice players should be a real problem when you’re competing against Sydney and Queensland teams packed with rep players.

When Simpson and Law got injured, the Valkryries didn’t skip a beat, primarily because they were secretly harbouring an first-grade quality option on their bench. Waterman is typical of Canberra’s ingenuity, looking in the spots others won’t, identifying the players that slip through the cracks.

Waterman isn’t the hero of this season, and she wasn’t meant to be. She is but one of many players that the Raiders are getting the most out of, and that have driven them to a preliminary final for the first time in the NRLW team’s history. To go further players like her must continue to deliver.

Even when they weren’t meant to.

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