Apii Nicholls-Pualau
Apii Nicholls-Pualau (born 26 February 1993) is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a , she is a New Zealand representative. Background. Born in Rarotonga, Nicolls-Paualau represented the Cook Islands rugby sevens team before switching to rugby league. Playing career. In 2017, Nicholls-Paulau began playing for the Otahuhu Leopards in the Auckland Rugby League. Later that year, she was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup. She captained the team in a 50–4 win  over Canada. On 2 December 2017, she started at in New Zealand's final loss to Australia. On 11 February 2018, she was named the NZRL Women's Player of the Year. On 1 August 2018, she joined the New Zealand Warriors NRL Women's Premiership team. In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Warriors, kicking a goal in a 10–4 win over the Sydney Roosters. In October 2019, Nicholls-Pualau was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad.