Last week Simaima Taufa was smashing New Zealanders. This week she's inspiring them.
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The Canberra Raiders co-captain's part of a raid across the Ditch with the aim to inspire, develop and/or find the next Taufa. The next Apii Nicholls. The next Cheyelle Robins-Reti. The next Madison Bartlett.
Robins-Reti was named to make her Kiwi Ferns debut on Tuesday - against Tonga at Eden Park on Saturday.
Fellow Raiders Ash Quinlan and Nicholls were on the bench, while Raiders NRL star Matt Timoko will make his Kiwis debut against Samoa - also at Eden Park on Saturday.
Joe Tapine was named at lock, while Danny Levi was part of the extended bench.
New Zealand's a familiar hunting ground for the Green Machine, who recruited Kiwi greats like Ruben Wiki, Quentin Pongia and John Lomax back in the day.
Now they're heading on a New Zealand raid for their NRLW side, thanks to funding from the Raiders Foundation.
![Raiders co-captain Simaima Taufa will take part in a series of coaching clinics and school visits looking to find the next New Zealand NRLW stars. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Raiders co-captain Simaima Taufa will take part in a series of coaching clinics and school visits looking to find the next New Zealand NRLW stars. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/e66ca9e5-618a-4c67-befc-e4b511b8891e.jpg/r0_115_3435_2046_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Raiders coach Darrin Borthwick, co-captains Zahara Temara, Grace Kemp and director Katrina Fanning will travel to New Zealand's north island this week for a series of school visits and coaching clinics.
They'll also watch their Raiders teammates playing for the Kiwi Ferns at Eden Park on Saturday, before attending the Maori Knockout carnival in Rotorua the following day.
They'll also visit the Waikato Chiefs' home base in Hamilton.
Taufa was born in Tonga, grew up in New Zealand and "calls Australia home".
She's trying to inspire the next generation of Raiders as they look to turn the place where she grew up into a fertile recruitment area.
Taufa's squeezing the trip into her hectic schedule - during her week off from Jillaroos duty - before she returns to camp to prepare to play the Kiwi Ferns in Melbourne on October 28.
"To be able to go across there to find the next Madison Bartlett, to find the next Cheyelle - that's pretty cool because we're going in their backyard and they're playing for the Canberra Raiders," she said.
![Raiders young gun Grace Kemp hopes to show what rugby league can do for young girls. Picture by Keegan Carroll Raiders young gun Grace Kemp hopes to show what rugby league can do for young girls. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/3fcbe6f5-00c1-4f08-94ed-1be2af4eb7c9.jpg/r0_264_5160_3177_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"What more can we do than to go out there and continue to raise that profile and literally let them know they can be where we are today."
It's a continuation of the work the Raiders did in the Canberra region in the lead-up to the inaugural NRLW campaign.
They held clinics on the South Coast, in the Riverina and in Canberra to find local talent to bolster their squad.
It led to players like Ua Ravu and Elise Smith making their NRLW debuts this year.
Once Borthwick's back from New Zealand he planned to return to the ACT's surrounds to again conduct more development programs.
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"To take both our co-captains over and one of our emerging stars is exciting," he said.
"We're looking forward to it. It will be good for the girls to get over there.
"We want to put our brand out there and showcase how successful our women were on the field."
They're visiting Raiders prop Kerehitina Matua's old school in Auckland, where her dad's the principal, on Wednesday before heading to Hamilton to visit an all-girls school where they'll conduct junior and senior clinics on Thursday.
Then they'll return to Auckland for a clinic with the Richmond Rovers - Fanning and Raiders winger Madison Bartlett's old club.
The all-girls school in Hamilton's primarily a rugby union school, which was perhaps why they're taking Kemp.
She converted from rugby union, playing for the ACT Brumbies and the Wallaroos, to the NRLW this year.
Kemp hoped to one day play State of Origin and for the Jillaroos.
Both Kemp and Kiwi Robins-Reti have shown the Raiders set-up is a successful one for codehoppers.
The Canberra Times revealed Kemp was set to take up her option for 2024 with the goal to be a long-term Raider.
"The more footy they play the better for them and it will be great to show them what the Raiders are about, and what the Raiders as a family can do for them as well," Kemp said.
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