Te Rarawa Jillaroo Rima Butler set for NSW Origin debut at Suncorp

Sydney Roosters and Jillaroos prop Rima Butler is set to make her New South Wales State of Origin debut at Suncorp Stadium next Thursday, capping a remarkable 18-month run for the proud Te Rarawa wahine.

Butler, 28, was named to the bench for Game II of the 2026 Ampol Women’s State of Origin series after Wests Tigers captain Kezie Apps shifted to the second row to cover the injured Tiana Penitani Gray. She will wear the No. 16 jumper as the Blues attempt to wrap up the three-game series 2-0 on 14 May.

A premiership winner with the Newcastle Knights in 2023 and again with the Sydney Roosters in 2025, Butler has built a career on quiet consistency. She represented the Māori All Stars on home soil this year, made her Jillaroos debut at the 2025 Pacific Championships, and was part of the extended NSW Origin squad for Game I in Newcastle. The Suncorp call-up makes Origin her third major representative jersey in 12 months.

Butler was born in Minto in south-western Sydney to New Zealand parents, and represents her Te Rarawa iwi – the Māori people of the Far North of Aotearoa – in the Māori All Stars side each February. Cousin Harata Butler is a long-serving Māori All Stars representative and Kiwi Ferns international, and Rima has spoken publicly about following Harata’s footsteps into representative rugby league.

In Blues camp this week, Butler said being on the verge of an Origin jumper had brought home how recently the women’s game had grown to the point where Origin was even possible.

“I’m in awe of all the women who played before us and paved the way for what we have now,” Ms Butler said.

She returns to a venue with strong personal meaning. Last year, Butler made her Jillaroos Test debut against Fetu Samoa at Suncorp Stadium in the Pacific Championships, before backing up at Auckland’s Eden Park against the Kiwi Ferns – a Test in which her Aotearoa-based whānau cheered her on in green and gold despite the unusual feeling of seeing family members in Kiwi Ferns colours in the crowd.

Butler has also spoken about her decision to declare for Australia at international level rather than New Zealand. She has said the Jillaroos environment under coach and Barkindji and Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Hine Māori woman Jess Skinner had embraced the diverse cultural backgrounds of all the women in the squad.

In the NRLW, Butler has averaged more than 40 minutes per game in the front row this season, running for around 119 metres per match for the Roosters under coach John Strange – the same coach now picking her for the Blues. Strange named just one positional change for Game II, with Apps shifting to the edge and Butler stepping in on the bench.

The Blues won the opening game of the 2026 series 11-6 in Newcastle. The Maroons, who have not won a Women’s State of Origin match at Suncorp Stadium, will be desperate to keep the series alive at home. Game III will be played at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast on 28 May.

Butler will join a long list of Māori women – and a small but growing list of Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi descendants – to represent the Blues in the modern Women’s State of Origin era.