Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 17 July 2003||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 84 kg (13 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Second-row, Centre, Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:
[1] As of 16 September 2023 |
Tiana Raftstrand-Smith (born 17 June 2003) is a professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
A second-row, centre, she previously played for the Gold Coast Titans.
Raftstrand-Smith was born in Auckland and is of Māori descent. [2] She played her junior rugby league for the Richmond Rovers before moving to the Gold Coast, Queensland as a 13-year old. [3] [4] In Australia, she attended Keebra Park State High School and played rugby league for the Parkwood Sharks. [5]
Raftstrand-Smith's aunt, Portia Woodman, is a New Zealand rugby sevens and rugby union international. [6]
While at Keeba Park, Raftstrand-Smith was a member of the Australian rugby sevens Youth Development Program. [7]
In 2021 and 2022, she played for the Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership, winning a Grand Final with the club in 2021. [8]
On 25 June 2021, the 18–year old Raftstrand-Smith started at second-row for Queensland in their State of Origin win over New South Wales. In August 2021, she signed with the Gold Coast Titans. [9]
In February, Raftstrand-Smith represented the Māori All Stars against the Indigenous All Stars. [10]
In Round 1 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, she made her NRLW debut for the Titans against the St George Illawarra Dragons. [11] On 24 June 2022, she came off the bench for Queensland in their 20–14 loss to New South Wales. [12]
Raftstrand-Smith began the 2023 season playing for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. [13]
On 20 May, Raftrand-Smith signed with the North Queensland Cowboys NRLW team on a two-year contract, alongside her younger sister Ebony. [14]
In Round 1 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys, starting at prop in a 16–6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans. [15]