The U17 Georgia Hale Cup begins this Saturday with both Auckland teams heading out of town for their opening games. This is the inaugural year for the tournament, and we’re excited to launch this competition to give girls an opportunity to continue to shine on the representative stage early in the season.  

The competition is made up of four teams. Two of these teams are Auckland representative teams, Auckland Blue and Auckland White. These teams were picked based off the best U17 Girls from a trial held in January. The Final will be played with the Shaun Johnson and Dean Bell competitions on the 1st of April. 

Georgia Hale started her Rugby League career in Auckland, playing for the Richmond Roses. Georgia also represented her country for Tag and Touch Football as a junior before giving League a go. Georgia’s rise to professional Rugby League began early, first cracking it in 2014 representing New Zealand in a 3-game series at the NRL Auckland 9’s competition. In 2015 Georgia made her test debut for the Kiwi Ferns coming off the bench. In 2016, she was named Player of the Match in the Kiwi Ferns ANZAC Test win over the Jillaroos. 

Georgia was a part of the inaugural NRL Women’s season representing the New Zealand Warriors. In her debut she played halfback in the Warriors 10-4 win over the Sydney Roosters. In 2021, Georgia made the jump across the ditch to play with Gold Coast Titans. For the 2023 season Georgia has signed on with English side Leeds Rhinos in hopes of trying to make her mark on the Women’s game in the Northern Hemisphere.  

Georgia is not only a star on the field. She is an exemplary role model off the field, winning the Young New Zealander of the year award in 2020 for her work in the community around schools, teaching our Youth how to live a healthier lifestyle. Georgia set up the community initiative “The Great Charity Day” which raised upwards of $120,000 in its first 2 years. Georgia is also involved in several initiatives which help young children, rural communities and the intellectually disabled. 

Having Georgia as the face of this Pre-Season competition is an honour and we hope that it inspires our young women in the competition to strive for greatness on and off the field. The first fixtures will be played at grounds outside of Auckland. Round 2 will be played on Saturday the 4th of March and will be live streamed through the Auckland Rugby League YouTube Channel thanks to The StreamShop.  

Round 1 Fixtures

Saturday 25th of February at 11:30am, Takahiwai Domain, Northland

Northland vs Auckland White - (Pete's Filming Delayed coverage)

Sunday 26th of February at 10:00am, League Park Ngaruawahia 

Waikato vs Auckland Blue - (ARL Delayed coverage)

Article added: Thursday 23 February 2023