Fresh off a year away from the game, Vanessa Foliaki is looking forward to life as a North Sydney Bear.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSWRL Women's Premiership side made the former Orange Hawk an offer she couldn't refuse and hope she can help them go one better than their grand final loss in 2020.
"They approached me. They saw that I had the year off and I'm friends with a couple of the girls who already play in North Sydney so they must have told them that I was looking to come back next season," Foliaki said.
"Then Pat Weisner, the head of recruitment at Bears reached out and put an offer forward and that's how it all went."
Having played the game all her life, last season was the first she'd ever had off.
"I was in a position where I couldn't put my career on hold for much longer because I had taken so much time off in the previous years for Origin and things like that," she added.
"I took the year off which was a blessing in disguise because COVID stopped a lot of the NRLW, so to be honest I didn't really miss much footy in that sense, but I'm looking forward to getting back into it come next year."
With pre-season on the horizon, the second-rower is excited for things to get underway.
"I've spoken to (the coach) and I like the idea of what he has planned for the team next year and where he sees me playing which is another reason why I opted to go the Bears," Foliaki added.
"They've done some good recruiting and signed some key players in key positions. It's looking promising and I think the squad that they've gathered for 2022 will be a squad to look out for.
"I have had the year off so just looking to play some good footy and take it one step at a time."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.centralwesterndaily.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Catch up on our news headlines at Google News