Wests Tigers are pleased to announce that international representative duo Botille Vette-Welsh and Raecene McGregor have both joined the club for the 2020 season.
The one-year deals will see the duo feature for the club’s Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership side throughout the 2020 season as Wests Tigers look to improve on an impressive 2019 campaign that culminated in a Preliminary Final appearance after finishing sixth in the regular season.
Captain of Wests Tigers Harvey Norman NSW Premiership side in 2019, Vette-Welsh returns to the club after a breakout season that saw the fullback earn representative honours for Australia and New South Wales.
Voted as the Players’ Player of the season, Vette-Welsh also featured for the Maori All Stars and City Origin sides and was one of the standout performers in the NRLW competition with the St. George-Illawarra Dragons.
Vette-Welsh features amongst best in 2019 NRLW season
Joining Vette-Welsh in Wests Tigers colours next season is Kiwi international Raecene McGregor, who featured for the Premiership-winning Broncos in 2019.
The 22-year-old McGregor has been a regular in the Kiwis squad since 2018 and will bring elite level experience and composure to Wests Tigers side in 2020.
Both players expressed their excitement to join Wests Tigers in the year ahead.
“I’m really excited to be back with Wests Tigers,” said Vette-Welsh. “Last year was a crazy year for me, and this club assisted me in achieving all that I did.
“I feel really honoured and grateful to be given the opportunities I have and I’m really excited to have another successful year with this team in 2020.”
“Everyone has been really welcoming so far,” McGregor added. “Everyone has been very professional to work with and I’m very excited to put on these colours.
“All the girls are feeling really confident heading into the new year and we’re all determined to put in a great amount of effort and have a really successful season.”
Wests Tigers CEO Justin Pascoe added his congratulations to Botille and Raecene.
“On behalf of all at Wests Tigers, I’d like to say how pleasing it is to secure players with the talent and professionalism of both Botille and Raecene,” Pascoe said.
“Botille has been a wonderful representative of this club throughout 2019 and has shown herself to be a true star of women’s rugby league.
“It is also a great reflection of the development and strength of our women’s program to be able to secure a player with the talent and representative experience of Raecene,” he added. “We are delighted to see her commit to growing our women’s program even further this season and have no doubt that she will help our team achieve great success in 2020.”
