Biddle giving every vindication she's on the road to stardom

When former Kiwi Ferns star Charlotte Scanlan was asked to recommend some local New Zealand players for the new Sharks NRLW outfit in 2023, she nominated just one - Annessa Biddle.

Scanlan, who was calling matches in the domestic NZRL competition, had played under Sharks head of female pathways Casey Bromilow at the Knights in 2021, so he contacted her in the hope of finding NRLW talent in New Zealand.

“Annessa was the only player I was willing to put my name to,” Scanlan said of Biddle, who is preparing to face the Jillaroos in Sunday’s Pacific Cup final at CommBank Stadium.

“Casey was looking for a couple of props as well but at the time I felt she was the only one that was ready.”

Less than two years later Biddle has won the NRLW 2023 Rookie of the Year award, played in the 2024 NRLW grand final and cemented a place in the second row for the Kiwi Ferns, despite playing centre for the Sharks.

“I'm going to be honest, I’d never played second row before, but I absolutely loved it,” Biddle said.

“Centre is really good for NRLW but coming into the Kiwi Ferns and just switching into that position, it's just really easy to transition because of the girls around me.

“There’s so many good centres, and that’s why I didn't get a crack at centre, so I'm just grateful to be on the field as a second-rower with this team.”

Biddle's performances for the Kiwi Ferns have earned her a nomination for the IRL 2024 Golden Boot. 

Yet the 22-year-old hadn’t considered an NRLW career before Scanlan told her of Cronulla’s interest and was just enjoying playing for Otara Scorpions.

“I've been playing ever since high school, but just learning the positions and learning the rules of the game, it was just last year that I started taking it seriously,” Biddle said.

“I was fortunate enough to have one of the commentators, Charlotte Scanlan, who played NRLW and played for the Kiwi Ferns as well, come up to me after a game.

“She was commentating, and she saw something in my game, so she messaged me and was like, ‘the Sharks are looking for players, is it OK if I send through your highlights’.

"That's how everything kind of started at the Sharks.”

Debuting on the wing for Cronulla in the opening game of last year’s NRLW competition, Biddle was shifted to the centres after two matches and has played there since - except at international level.

Scanlan, who has a coaching role with the Warriors, isn’t surprised by Biddle’s success and the only disappointment was that she wouldn’t be returning home when the club rejoins the NRLW next season.

“I knew that she was not only an athlete on the field but she had done the work off the field and was a good person and a great teammate, so I was happy to put her forward to the Sharks,” Scanlan said.

“It was actually her work off the ball that really impressed me.

"She was always looking for work, it wasn’t coming easy to her, and I think that showed in her rookie year. She just carved up with her intent to get in and do the hard stuff.

“I’m really proud of her and I am gutted that she is not coming back to the Warriors but I am happy for any of our local talent to be getting the recognition.

“Just because our competition across the board isn’t as strong doesn’t mean individual players aren’t as strong and she is a great testament to that."

For Biddle, who has signed with the Sharks until 2027, the hardest part about joining Cronulla was leaving her family but she said they were her motivation to keep achieving success.

"They're definitely my biggest supporters, they help me get through everything. If I'm having a bad day, they're the ones I call. If I'm having a great day or just want to talk about the game, they're the first ones I call," she said.

"I'm from a huge family and to be honest they are more into rugby union, but I am the first to make it in rugby league so hopefully I can pave the way for my younger brothers.

"They are playing rugby league back at home and hopefully I am setting a pathway for them."