Kiana Takairangi

Kiana Takairangi (born 20 July 1992) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Cronulla Sharks in the NRL Women's Premiership.

A er or, she has represented the Cook Islands and New Zealand internationally. She previously played for the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights in the NRLW and the Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.

Background
Kiana is the sister of Cook Islands and New Zealand international Brad Takairangi. Her father, Louis, played three games for the Parramatta Eels in 1987.

She has also played for the Los Angeles Temptation in the Legends Football League.

Playing career
In 2017, Takairangi represented the Cook Islands at the 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup.

On 22 June 2019, Takairangi made her debut for New Zealand, starting at and scoring two tries in a 46–8 win over Samoa. On 1 July 2019, she was named in the Sydney Roosters NRL Women's Premiership squad.

In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Roosters in a 12–16 loss to the New Zealand Warriors. In October 2019, she was a member of New Zealand's 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s-winning squad.

In 2020, Takairangi re-signed with the Roosters as a development player for the 2020 NRL Women's season.

In June 2022, Takairangi signed with the Newcastle Knights for the 2022 season. She made her club debut for the Knights in round 1 of the 2022 NRLW season against the Brisbane Broncos. In the Knights' round 5 win over the St. George Illawarra Dragons, she made her first NRLW appearance at and scored her first try, where she beat 5 defenders on her way to the line.

On 2 October 2022, Takairangi played in the Knights' NRLW Grand Final win over the Parramatta Eels, scoring two tries in the Knights' 32-12 victory.

In April 2023, Takairangi signed a 1-year contract with new NRLW side Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.