Wests Tigers star Lily Rogan is set play alongside her cousin Roisin Crowe, as Ireland’s women aim to create history by qualifying for next year’s World Cup - to be staged in Australia and Papua New Guinea - for the first time.

Crowe recruited Rogan to the Irish cause after moving to Australia two years ago, and they will play together in the upcoming IRL Rugby League World Series 2025 in Canada, which will determine the final women’s berth at RLWC26.

Ireland face Nigeria on October 21 at Terry Fox Stadium in Brampton, Ontario with the winner to play the victor of the Canada-Fiji clash in a play-off for the eighth and last place in next year’s World Cup, on October 26.

Rogan is eligible to play for Ireland through her grandmother, Anne Bass, who is from County Wicklow and moved to Australia shortly before the 21-year-old centre’s mother was born.

“Roisin moved over here from Ireland and I got introduced to her. She played footy as well so we bonded over that and then she asked if I would be interested in trialling for the Irish team,” Rogan said.

“The trials were at Leichhardt Oval and she passed on the coach’s information so I sent him my rugby league resume, and I was invited along. Through that training session, and I guess my games for Wests Tigers through the year, I was lucky enough to be selected.”

Crowe, who represented Ireland in 2022, spent last season with the Cronulla Sharks Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team and has this year been playing for Engadine Dragons. “I played for the Illawarra Steelers Harvey Norman side last year, but we didn’t get to play against each other when she was at the Sharks,” Rogan noted. “We will now get to play together, which is great because she is nice and quick.”

Rogan, who started playing as a junior for Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs on the NSW South Coast, will be joined in the Ireland team by former team-mate Jemma Morrisey, currently with Corrimal Cougars. “I have played rugby league with her since I started really. We played Lisa Fiaola Cup together at the Steelers for three or four years before she went to Cronulla,” she said. “I am excited to play with her again. We have been trying to book our flights so we can travel to Toronto together.”

The Ireland squad includes a mixture of players based in Ireland, England and Australia, including former Dublin City Exiles pair Martha Dwyer and Trisha Doyle, who currently play for Aspley Devils in Queensland.

There won’t be long for everyone to get to know their teammates. Rogan confirmed: “We all got put into a group chat and were asked to introduce ourselves through a little video. We just said what position we play, the type of person we are and what got us into rugby league. It was just breaking the ice a little bit. We will meet everyone when we land over there two days before the first game.”

By coincidence, Rogan has met Nigeria women’s head coach Bolu Fagborun when he was in Australia to recruit players and sponsors earlier this year. “The Nigerian coach actually came to one of the training sessions at Wests Tigers, so I introduced myself,” she noted. “There is a girl in the Wests Tigers Harvey Norman team who is in the Nigerian squad (Annique Omodiagbe). I guess I will see them over there.”

Ireland Women's World Series squad

Martha Dwyer, Trisha Doyle (Aspley Devils), Katie Ann McCallion, Rachel Morton (Bainbridge Broncos), Jemma Gallagher (Corrimal Cougars), Molly Boyne, Lisa Callan, Aimee Clarke, Alice Fitzgerald, Niamh Griffin, Emma Kelly, Lena Kibler, Orlaith McAuliffe, Caoimhe Molloy, Katie Ann O'Neill, Cliodhna O'Sullivan, Anna Potterton, Aine Rutley (Dublin City Exiles), Roisin Crowe (Engadine Dragons), Stacy Hanley, Aifric Ni Ghibne, Holly O'Dwyer (Galway Tribeswomen), Megan Preston (Huddersfield Giants), Storm Cobain, Molly Young (Leigh Leopards), Iona Mcusker, Polly Roberts, Jade Walker (London Broncos), Stephanie Carroll, Sarah Madison Boyle (Mounties), Lydia Egan (Salford Red Devils), Lilly Rogan (Wests Tigers), Becky Webb (Widnes Vikings)

IRL Women's World Series 2025

Venue: Terry Fox Stadium, Brampton, Ontario

Tuesday, October 21
Semi-final: Ireland v Nigeria (kick off 3.30pm)
Semi-final: Canada v Fiji (6pm)

Sunday, October 26
Third-place play-off: Semi-final losers (1pm)
Final: Semi-final winners (3.30pm)