Nakia Davis-Welsh (born 22 May 1996) is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player. Primarily a , she is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

international and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

representative, and currently plays for

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

in the

NRLW The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is ...

Background

Born in

Kempsey, New South Wales Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located roughly 16.5 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean, on the Macleay Valley Way near where the P ...

, Davis-Welsh is the daughter of former

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

five-eighth Paul Davis and the cousin of

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

representative

Greg Inglis Gregory Paul Inglis (born 15 January 1987), also known by the nickname of "G.I.", is a retired Australian professional rugby league footballer. His regular playing positions were Centre, Fullback, Five-eighth and Wing. From 2011 to 2019 he pl ...

. She attended Hunter Sports High and only began playing organised

in 2012.

Playing career

In 2013, Davis-Welsh, aged 16 at the time, represented the Indigenous All Stars in the annual women's All Stars match. In 2016, she made her debut for

in the annual Women's Interstate Challenge against

. In 2017, she played at fullback in the

Redfern All Blacks The Redfern All Blacks, also known as RABs or Redfern, are an Indigenous Australian semi-professional rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, They are a part of the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League. History Redfe ...

' NSW Women's Premiership Grand Final win over North Newcastle. She finished as the top try scorer in the competition. In October 2017, she was named in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup and was held in Australia between 16 November and 2 December 2017. Pool and semi-final matches was held at Southern Cross Group Stadium in Sydney ...

squad. She made her international debut in Australia's opening round win over the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. On 2 December, she started at fullback in the Jillaroos 23-16

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

win over the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She played four games in the tournament, scoring three tries. In June 2018, Davis-Welsh was announced as one of fifteen marquee signings by the Sydney Roosters women's team which participated in the inaugural

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for women's rugby league in Australia, female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the ...

in September 2018. She did not play a match during the season, as it was revealed in October 2018 that she had fallen pregnant.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis-Welsh, Nakia 1996 births Living people Australian female rugby league players Australia women's national rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin Women players Parramatta Eels (NRLW) players People from Kempsey, New South Wales Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from New South Wales Sportswomen from New South Wales