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Krystal Rota (born 3 October 1985) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer.

She previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership.

Primarily a hooker, she is a New Zealand international.

Background

Born in Auckland, Rota began playing rugby league for the Manurewa Marlins when she was 17.

Playing career

In 2008, Rota was selected in the New Zealand train-on squad for the 2008 Women's Rugby League World Cup but was not selected in the final squad.

In 2015, Rota returned to rugby league after a three-year break. On 3 May 2015, she made her debut for New Zealand, coming off the bench in a 14–22 loss to Australia. On 6 May 2016, she started at hooker for New Zealand in their 26–16 win over Australia.

In 2017, Rota represented New Zealand at the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup. On 2 December 2017, she started at hooker in New Zealand's final loss to Australia.

On 31 July 2018, she joined the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership team. In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors in their 10–4 win over the Sydney Roosters.

On 15 February 2019, Rota captained the Māori All Stars and scored a try in their 8–4 win over the Indigenous All Stars. In October 2019, she was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad.

On 22 February 2020, she captained the Māori All Stars in their 4–10 loss to the Indigenous All Stars. Rota withdrew from the 2020 NRL Women's season due to family and work commitments.

On 1 December 2021, Rota signed with the Newcastle Knights to be a part of their inaugural NRLW squad. In February 2022, she was announced as one of the club captains.

In Round 1 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, Rota made her club debut for the Knights against the Parramatta Eels. She played in 4 matches for the Knights, before parting ways with the club at the end of the season.

In October 2022, she was selected for the New Zealand squad at the delayed 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup in England.

References

1. "Women in League profile: Krystal Rota". Auckland Rugby League. 24 September 2020.
2. "Krystal Rota". NZRL.
3. "Anzac Test - Five Vodafone Warriors". NZ Warrior. 26 April 2015.
4. "Kiwis confirm Anzac Test line-up". NZ Warriors. 3 May 2016.
5. "Kiwi Ferns named". NZ Warriors. 13 October 2017.
6. "Vodafone Warriors unveil NRL women's premiership squad". NZ Warriors. 1 August 2018.
7. "Club's first women's team named". NZ Warriors. 5 September 2018.
8. "Quartet named in Maori Ferns All-Stars team". NZ Warriors. 18 January 2019.
9. "World Cup winners for WNRL Nines". NZ Warriors. 10 February 2020.
10. "Women's All Stars captains back Indigenous v Maori concept". NRL. 21 February 2020.
11. "Rota hopes latest coach-captain switch brings stability". NRL. 4 November 2020.
12. "NRLW 2022: Newcastle Knights, club confirms nine Kiwi Ferns for inaugural campaign - NRL". National Rugby League. 1 December 2021.
13. "Trio named as inaugural Captains of the NRLW side". Newcastle Knights. 21 February 2022.
14. "Late mail: 1-17 confirmed for opening NRLW game". Newcastle Knights. 27 February 2022.
15. "Custom Match List - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
16. Priest, Craig (2 October 2022). "Kiwi Ferns name 24-strong World Cup squad". New Zealand Rugby League. Retrieved 14 November 2022.

External links

• Newcastle Knights profile
• NRL profile

• 1985 births
• Living people
• New Zealand Māori rugby league players
• New Zealand female rugby league players
• New Zealand women's national rugby league team captains
• New Zealand women's national rugby league team players
• New Zealand Warriors (NRLW) players
• Newcastle Knights (NRLW) players
• Rugby league hookers
• Rugby league players from Auckland
• 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen