A gold medal winning Olympian, Jillaroo and the 2021 Dally M Medallist, Emma Tonegato has become the Sharks ‘marquee’ NRLW signing in joining the Cronulla club on a two-year deal.
A player with speed and class, the signing of Tonegato compliments the announcement earlier in the week surrounding Quincy Dodd becoming the first to commit her 2023 NRLW playing future to the Sharks.
“I’m so excited to be here and I’m looking forward to the season,” Tonegato said while trying on Cronulla’s colours for the first time late last week.
“I had a few decisions to make and ultimately it came down to what was exciting for me and that was the Sharks and to being a part of the inaugural team.”
While Tonegato and Dodd are the first of more player signing announcements to come, Sharks coach Tony Herman was more than pleased to have secured the services of a player of undoubted professionalism and skill.
“The signing of Quincy, being a local junior having come through our pathways, and now Emma as a Dally M Medallist, dual international and proven performer in the NRLW, is the perfect start to what we are trying to build with our Sharks squad,” Herman said.
“Emma is going to be a massive benefit to our team with her leadership and professionalism off the field as much as what she will contribute on it,” Herman added.
The sporting journey for Tonegato has certainly been interesting, varied and successful, from representing the Jillaroos as an 18-year-old, to her jump to Rugby Sevens and two Olympic Games, before the switch back to the rugby league where she has become one of the most recognisable and respected players in the women’s game.
“It (2016) was the first time that Rugby Sevens women’s had been in the Olympics, which was very exciting and to come away with the gold medal after so many years of hard work was absolutely incredible,” Tonegato said of her first Olympic campaign.
Then following the 2020 Olympics, the lure of a rugby league return was too much to resist, with Tonegato an immediate success when playing for the Dragons in her first season in the NRLW.
“I was relishing the opportunity for a change. While I was at Sevens, I’d watched the NRLW progress and thought I’d love to give it a crack one day and when I got my chance, I wanted to make the most of it,” she said.
And make the most of it Tonegato definitely did, finishing as the joint Dally M Medallist alongside Millie Boyle, before last year again playing a leading role for the Dragons in her second NRLW season.
Tonegato, who was also a member of the tournament winning Jillaroos team at the recent Women’s World Cup, has a background and qualifications as an occupational therapist and will also commence part-time employment in the Sharks Community department with a focus on the disability space.
The signing of Tonegato provides a massive boost to a Sharks side looking to make an immediate impact in their inaugural season in the NRLW, with more exciting player announcements to be made in the coming weeks.
