NRLW The Players: Jade Fonua

Wests Tigers recruit Jade Fonua took to rugby league later in life than most NRLW players, but the Tongan international is set to make her impact felt at her new club.

Joining from Parramatta ahead of the upcoming 2025 NRL season, the 28-year-old has played nine NRLW matches to date and is looking to add starch to the Wests Tigers forward pack.

“ I definitely hope that I can lead by my actions,” said Fonua.

“ Just building on from the culture that the girls have already started and feeding into it.

“ I'm really excited to keep building a bond with them this season.”

After featuring in the Test arena for Tonga and having played in the NRLW for multiple seasons, you may be forgiven for thinking Jade has played rugby league her whole life.

However, this is far from the truth for the Liverpool local.

“My first experience in playing rugby was when I was at uni.

“ I started off in fifteens for Sydney Uni, and then in 2018 I ended up coming over to play rugby league for Cabramatta.

“ Some of my friends asked if I wanted to come and play and I went to play for fun, but then ended up leaving union to pursue rugby league.

Jade’s family history though meant she didn’t find the rapid transition to playing league difficult.

“ I had my brother and my cousins and we'd always play backyard footy or touch, and they were always very aggressive even with us girls.

“ I didn't really find the transition to playing hard because I would attend their football training, as well.

Fonua has both Samoan and Tongan heritage, and representing her family on the biggest stage is something she values most in rugby league.

Having already played Test matches for Tonga, she plans to use her performances for Wests Tigers to feature more on the international stage.

“This is for both my families, it’s really the drive for me to keep going.

“ I'm half Samoan, half Tongan, and being able to play for Tonga and representing my dad and my last name was really special to me.

“I love representing my family.”

A ball-playing middle forward, Fonua is set to provide toughness and physicality to the squad this season.

And along with her physical attributes, Jade joins the club wanting to become a leader.

“ I do think that I bring some leadership into the squad, especially having had experience at a different club.

“I just want to be be a sponge though and soak in all the learnings I can from the coaches.”

“ And I want to let the girls know that now that us new players have joined this team, we're sisters from now on.”