China Polata

China Polata (born 26 February 2002) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.

China Polata
Personal information
Full nameChina Efrosinia Polata
Born (2002-02-26) 26 February 2002
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight69 kg (10 st 12 lb)
Playing information
PositionWing, Centre, Prop, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021 Brisbane Broncos 1 0 0 0 0
2023– Nth Qld Cowboys 8 1 0 0 4
Total 9 1 0 0 4
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 Tonga 1 1 0 0 4
2023 Queensland 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 16 September 2023

A centre or fullback, she previously played for the Brisbane Broncos.

Background

Polata was born in Brisbane, Queensland and is of Tongan and Ukrainian descent.[2] She attended John Paul College in Daisy Hill.[3]

Playing career

In 2018, Polata represented Queensland at the under-17 national rugby sevens championships at Ballymore Stadium.[4]

In 2019, Polata began playing rugby league for Brothers St Brendans and represented Queenland under-18 in their 24–4 loss to New South Wales. In August 2019, she signed a development contract with the Brisbane Broncos.[5][6]

In 2020, Polata played for the Souths Logan Magpies in the QRL Women's Premiership. She tore her ACL later that year, missing the entire 2021 season.[7]

2022

In Round 4 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, Polata made her NRLW debut for the Broncos on the wing against the Gold Coast Titans.[8] Following the NRLW season, she played for Souths Logan in the QRL Women's Premiership.[9]

In June, she made her international debut for Tonga, starting at five-eighth and scoring a try in their 50–12 loss to New Zealand.[10] In November, Polata moved to Townsville, in hopes of gaining a contract with the newly established North Queensland Cowboys NRLW team.[11]

2023

Polata began the 2023 season playing for the Mackay Cutters in the QRL Women's Premiership.[12]

On 10 May, Polata signed with the North Queensland Cowboys.[13] On 23 June, she made her State of Origin debut for Queensland, starting on the wing in Game II of the 2023 State of Origin series.[14]

In Round 1 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys, starting on the wing in a 16–6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.[15] In Round 2, she was named to start on the wing but played at prop in a 31–20 win over the Newcastle Knights.[16] In Round 4, he scored her first NRLW try in a 16–12 win over the Wests Tigers.[17]

References
  1. "China Polata - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. "Generation Next on display in under 18s showdown". NRL. 20 June 2019.
  3. "Queensland U18 debut "indescribable" for Polata". QRL. 19 June 2019.
  4. "Gold Coast dominates Queensland sevens squads for national championships at Ballymore". Gold Coast Bulletin. 30 November 2018.
  5. "Six Logan girls selected in the Queensland under 18 rugby league team to play New South Wales". The Courier Mail. 12 June 2019.
  6. "Thriller as Brothers St Brendan's beat Parrots". QRL. 16 August 2019.
  7. "A look at the big stars and the up-and-comers of the inaugural women's premiership". The Couriter Mail. 10 March 2020.
  8. "Broncos NRLW Team List: Round 4 v Titans". Bribane Broncos. 15 March 2022.
  9. "Suzuki Brisbane Tigers Full squad list for 2022". Brisbane Tigers. 27 March 2022.
  10. "Kiwi Ferns return to Test match action in style with win over Tonga". ESPN. 25 June 2022.
  11. "How Polata is rediscovering her love of league". QRL. 23 December 2022.
  12. "Quicksilver Peters And Polata Shine In Cutters Ten Try BMD Premiership Romp". Mackay and Whitsunday Life. 20 April 2023.
  13. "Cowboys announce six NRLW signing". NQ Cowboys. 10 May 2023.
  14. "'I want to run through a brick wall': Polata ready to make her mark in Origin". QRL. 16 June 2023.
  15. "Final team list: Eight Cowboys named to make NRLW debuts". NQ Cowboys. 22 July 2023.
  16. "Dibb sinks former club in Cowboys upset over Knights". NRL.com. 30 July 2023.
  17. "Late Peters try steals win for Cowboys over Wests Tigers". NRL.com. 12 August 2023.
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