Talent factory: Teen stars give Dragons belief for future

Maria Paseka describes them as her “Steelers sisters” - the seven Dragons team-mates who played alongside her in last year’s grand final winning Tarsha Gale Cup and Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership sides.

Paseka, who has been named for her fourth NRLW appearance in Saturday’s match against the Cowboys at WIN Stadium, is one of eight teens in the Dragons side to come through the club's Illawarra pathways in the past 12 months.

Halfback Kasey Reh, centre Indie Bostock, Paseka and forwards Ella Koster, Charlotte Basham and Bronte Wilson were members of the undefeated 2024 Tarsha Gale Cup U19s team.

Another three players - five-eighth Evie McGrath (Wests Tigers), prop Hope Millard (Bulldogs) and lock Sienna Yeo (Knights) - are playing NRLW for other clubs.

Bostock, Wilson, Paseka, prop Trinity Tauaneai and hooker Tori Shipton also played in the 2024 Harvey Norman NSW Premiership grand final winning team.

With Reh, Bostock, Shipton, Wilson and Paseka joined by Tyra Ekepati and Leisel Hopoate in this year’s NSW U19s team, the club formed the nucleus of the Blues outfit that won June’s Origin match. Another Steeler, Tahlia O’Brien, was 18th player.

“I'm honestly so proud of these Steelers girls that grew up playing with me,” Paseka said.

They're my sisters and I’ll back them every single day.

“I've got their backs. It's what motivates me as a player and as an individual to play better for them, as well. I'm really proud of where we are at.”

The Dragons are still in with a slim hope of making the NRLW finals after last weekend’s defeat of the Warriors but need to beat the Cowboys and Knights, while relying on the Titans to lose both their matches.

However, with such a young squad, coach Nathan Cross is prepared to be patient as he can see the potential in coming seasons.

Shipton, 18, needed an exemption to make her NRLW debut in Round 6 against the Sharks and has played every match since.

Paseka, who debuted last year against Cronulla, is also on a development contract, along with O’Brien, who made her NRLW debut against the Sharks and has played two matches as an interchange forward.

A strong finisher with blistering pace, Paseka has scored a try in each of her NRLW appearances this season against the Sharks and Warriors, and the Kiama junior also scored in both of her NSW Under 19s appearances in 2024 and 2025.

“I just had full trust in the girls, and we got away with a good result,” she said of the 26-18 defeat of the Warriors at Kogarah last weekend.

“We’ve got to take it week in, week out and focus on the little things skills-wise and whatnot.”

In a season plagued by injuries and costly suspensions, Cross is confident that the long-term succession of the Dragons NRLW team is in safe hands with their junior ranks.

“I’ve said it a number of times, we’re a really young team,” Cross said. “We’re probably lacking a couple of older, calmer heads that maybe some of the other, more experienced teams have. But that's okay, I’m happy to wear that.

We’re playing the long game here at the Dragons. We’ve got a really great, exciting young squad.

"You look at someone like Tori Shipton, she wasn’t even in our squad at the start of the year.

“She's obviously a development player for us, but for this year, she comes in as an injury replacement. We got dispensation to get her exempt again and she’s doing such a great job, with such a huge future.”