Sariah Paki is an elite Australian Rugby Sevens international, dual Olympian and now NRLW player with the Sydney Roosters, having made her long-awaited rugby league debut in Round 1 of the 2026 NRLW season. Widely recognised for her physicality, athleticism and powerful ball-carrying ability, Paki has built an outstanding sporting résumé across multiple elite competitions and is regarded as one of Australia’s premier female athletes.

A product of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Paki originally played touch football with Manly Warringah before transitioning to rugby league and later making the switch to Rugby Sevens. Her immense potential was evident from an early age, and in 2018 she became the youngest player ever to represent Australia on the World Rugby Sevens Series, making her international debut at just 17 years of age.

Since then, Paki has established herself as a cornerstone of the Australian Women’s Sevens program. She represented Australia at both the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, while also playing a key role in Australia’s gold-medal-winning campaigns at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. Her achievements place her among the most decorated athletes of her generation and underline her contribution to one of the most successful eras in Australian Sevens history.

Known affectionately as “Big Girl”, Paki is admired for her powerful carries, defensive intent and infectious energy. Her professionalism and versatility have also seen her broaden her representative opportunities through Super Rugby Women’s with the NSW Waratahs, further strengthening her credentials as a high-performance athlete capable of excelling across multiple formats of the game.

In June 2026, the Sydney Roosters secured Paki’s services for the NRLW season, identifying her as an athlete capable of making an immediate impact in rugby league. Roosters coach John Strange highlighted her elite sporting background, experience on the international stage and world-class athletic qualities as key reasons behind her recruitment.

Paki’s transition to rugby league reached a major milestone when she made her NRLW debut for the Sydney Roosters in Round 1 of the 2026 season against the Gold Coast Titans, lining up in the back row and becoming the latest international Sevens star to successfully cross codes into the NRLW. Remarkably, the debut came eight years after helping the Cronulla Sharks win the 2018 Tarsha Gale Cup before pursuing her decorated Rugby Sevens career.