Dragons 2018: Tungai on path to stardom

Coach Daniel Lacey is the first to admit Tungai was not on the radar early on, but said an impressive performance for Southern Division, and the resulting call-up to the Country side, left him in no doubt the Greyhounds star had to be part of his squad.

“I’ve followed women’s rugby league for a while but Shak’s someone who really didn’t come onto the radar until she made the Southern CRL team and excelled from there,” Lacey said.

“Alicia-Kate [Hawke], my assistant, pointed her out to me and said she definitely had potential. From there she went to the [national] championships and she was obviously excited to play for Country team with all those players.

“We watched her closely and she finished every opportunity she had scoring tries but what sold me was when she came into our high performance [program] I could see what she could do and the commitment she showed. She didn’t miss a session, she ripped in and showed the she could step up this level.” 

Tungai only converted to rugby league last year having spent her youth playing soccer where she picked up the Kyah Simon Medal as player of the tournament at the 2016 National Indigenous Soccer Championships.

She still found plenty of time to fit in some backyard battles with her two brothers before making the full leap to rugby league last season.

“For most of my sporting career I played soccer so I only came to football last year,” Tungai said.

“Other that I’d only played in the backyard against my brothers. I’ve got one older and one younger, we just used go out there and smash each other.

“This year it’s really kick-started and it’s been non-stop since February. In June I got the chance to play [for Country] with players I really look up to, Kezie Apps, Ruan Sims, Sammy Bremner which was really exciting.

“I watched them all through the World Cup, it was awesome to see them win that. It’s good play against them, but to have the opportunity to play alongside them is just an amazing opportunity.”

That experience, despite her tender years, has also seen her lead Avondale in their first year in the Illawarra Women’s League where she sits second in the point-scoring tally with 62.

“They put that side together this year and a lot of girls are really new to football,” Tungai said.

“It’s good to have that experience now and try and pass that on to them.”