|
Botille Vette-Welsh
Botille Vette-Welsh (born 13 September 1996) is a New Zealand-born Australian rugby league player who plays as a fullback for the Newcastle Knights in the NRLW. She previously played for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers and has represented Australia and New South Wales. Playing careerBefore switching to rugby league, Vette-Welsh played rugby sevens for Macquarie University.[2] In 2017, Vette-Welsh represented the NSW City side while playing for Cronulla-Caringbah.[3] 2018In 2018, Vette-Welsh played for Cabramatta in the NSWRL Women's Premiership and represented NSW City at the Women's National Championships.[4] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's Premiership, Vette-Welsh made her debut for the Sydney Roosters, starting at fullback in their 10–4 loss to the New Zealand Warriors.[5] 2019On 15 February, Vette-Welsh started at fullback for the Māori All Stars in their 8–4 win over the Indigenous All Stars.[6] On 18 March, she joined the Wests Tigers NSWRL Women's Premiership team.[7] In May, she represented NSW City at the Women's National Championships.[8] On 14 June, she joined the St George Illawarra Dragons NRLW team.[9] On 21 June, she made her State of Origin debut for New South Wales.[10] In October, she represented Australia at the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.[11] On 25 October, she made her Test debut for Australia in a 8–28 win over New Zealand.[12] 2020On 22 February, Vette-Welsh started at fullback for the Māori All Stars in their 4–10 loss to the Indigenous All Stars.[13] On 22 September, Vette-Welsh re-joined the Roosters NRLW team.[14] On 25 October, she started at fullback in the Roosters' 10–20 Grand Final loss to the Brisbane Broncos.[15] On 13 November, she started at fullback and scored a try for New South Wales in their 18–24 State of Origin loss to Queensland.[16] 2021On 20 February, she represented the Māori All Stars in their 24–0 win over the Indigenous All Stars.[17] 2023As early as 2021, Wests Tigers Board Chairperson, Lee Hagipantelis, stated he was hoping to build the club's WNRL team around Vette-Welsh. He said, "Bo Vette-Welsh is one of those players, whether it be in the men or women's game, that draws you to watch rugby league. The way she leads that team around the park, you want to go and watch her specifically."[18] In July 2023, she was named as co-captain, with Kezie Apps, of the Wests Tigers in their inaugural NRLW season.[19] She said, "We're not here to be a number, we’re not here to just compete against clubs. We’re here to represent the Wests Tigers and do a good job at it. I think we have got all the capabilities in the world to win a premiership."[20] Vette-Welsh had missed the entirety of the 2022 season with an ACL injury and played limited minutes in the club's only pre-season trial.[21] Six minutes into the first game, she scored the inaugural try for the NRLW team, and was said to be "enormous" as she set up another four.[22] 2024In December, Vette-Welsh signed a 3-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2025.[23] References
External links |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
