Tallisha Harden (born 21 July 1992) is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who captains the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

in the

NRL Women's Premiership The NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) also known as the Telstra NRL Women's Premiership due to sponsorship is a rugby league competition in Australasia for female players. The league is run by the National Rugby League (NRL) and is contested by ...

. Primarily a er, she is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

representative and previously played for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

and

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

Playing career

Rugby union

A former Australian representative indoor volleyball player, Harden began playing

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

at age 19. She played for Sunnybank and

before switching full-time to

in 2018.

Rugby league

In 2013, Harden began playing rugby league. In 2014, she represented the Indigenous All Stars. In 2015, 2016 and 2020, she captained the side. On 3 May 2015, she made her Test debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, coming off the bench in a 22–14 win over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

. On 27 June 2015, she made her debut for

in a 4–all draw with New South Wales at

1300SMILES Stadium The Willows Sports Complex (last known as 1300SMILES Stadium due to naming rights) was a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was used predominantly as a rugby league ground as the home ground of the North Que ...

. In June 2018, Harden represented South East Queensland at the inaugural Women's National Championships. On 14 June 2018, she joined the

team. In Round 3 of the

2018 NRL Women's season The 2018 NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) was the first season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Only two of the four sides, the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors, took part in pre-season trial gam ...

, she made her debut for the Broncos in a 32–10 win over the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

. In May 2019, she represented South East Queensland at the Women's National Championships. On 29 June 2019, she signed with the

NRLW team and was named their Player of the Year at the end of the season. In October 2019, Harden represented Australia at the

2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was the first staging of the Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament and took place on 18 and 19 October 2019 at Sydney's Bankwest Stadium. The tournament featured teams from 12 International Rugby League membe ...

and earned a recall to the Jillaroos Test side after a four-year absence, coming off the bench and scoring a try in a 28–8 win over New Zealand at

WIN Stadium Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawa ...

. In September 2020, Harden re-joined the

NRLW side. On 25 October 2020, she started at and scored a try in the Broncos' 20–10 Grand Final win over the Roosters. On 20 February 2021, she captained the Indigenous All Stars in their 24–0 loss to the

Māori All Stars Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. On 11 May 2023, Harden signed for the

on a one-year contract. On 28 June, she was named as the inaugural co-captain of the Cowboys, alongside Kirra Dibb. In Round 1 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys, starting at in a 16–6 loss to the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

. On 9 December 2024, Harden re-signed with the Cowboys for the 2025 season.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Player of the Year: 2019

Team

* 2020 NRLW Grand Final: Brisbane Broncos – Winners

References

External links

North Queensland Cowboys profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Tallisha 1992 births Living people 21st-century Australian sportswomen Australian female rugby league players Australia women's national rugby league team players Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Indigenous All Stars women players Indigenous Australian women rugby league players North Queensland Cowboys (NRLW) players Prime Minister's XIII women players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin Women players Rugby league players from Logan, Queensland Rugby league second-rows Sportswomen from Queensland Sydney Roosters (NRLW) players