How Aiton helped Albert fulfil NRLW dream and her plan to develop PNG talent
Author
Brad WalterNRL.com Senior ReporterTimestampSat 15 Jan 2022, 12:19 PM
Eels hooker Therese Aiton isn’t just a trailblazer for Papua New Guinea players; she has established a pathway for more women from the Pacific nation to play in the NRLW.
Aiton, who is only the third Orchids international to earn an NRLW contract after Amelia Kuk and Elsie Albert, has created a scholarship program to help promising PNG players further their careers in Australia.
Albert, the Orchids captain and St George Illawarra prop, was the first beneficiary after Aiton organised for her to come to Brisbane in 2020 to play for Souths Logan Magpies.
Elsie Albert is the first PNG player to benefit from a scholarship created by Therese Aiton©Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos
The 32-year-old, whose brother Paul played more than 100 NRL matches for Penrith and Cronulla and represented the Kumuls in 16 Tests, accommodated Albert at her house in Brisbane until she earned an NRLW contract with the Dragons.
Albert again received help from Aiton, through the Hezekiah Sports Scholarship Foundation she founded, to return for the 2021 NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership, which kicks off on February 27 after being postponed due to COVID.
This time, Aiton will be lining up against Albert after being signed by Parramatta and the Orchids star is working to ensure that there are more PNG players in the NRLW in future years.
“Ideally, we wanted to bring more players here now but the whole visa process and the funding for that was huge,” Aiton said.
“A friend of mine runs a charity, His Harvest, so we just branched off that with the Hezekiah Sports Scholarship Foundation and through that, with whatever funding comes through, we can support more players to come over here.
“I’ve put up my house for accommodation for them. This year I have offered to take five or six girls in my own home and get them to training.
“We just need funding to support us with visas and flights to get them over here and whatever food they require when they are here, but we are happy to take them to training and accommodate them.
“We were able to get Elsie here for the first year with Souths Logan Magpies, which was great, and to support her to come over again this year with the scholarship I created, so hopefully we can bring more players over because there is just so much talent in PNG.”
Eels hooker Therese Aiton has created a scholarship to help more PNG female players follow in the footsteps of Dragons prop and Orchids team-mate Elsie Albert
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