The Canberra Raiders are pleased to announce their four development players for the 2026 NRLW season.
Marley Cardwell, Aaliyah Lomas, Gabriella Savage and Isabella Piper will join the NRLW squad as development players for the 2026 season.
Cardwell returns for her second season at the club, after being a development player in 2025.
The 21-year-old played two games for the club in 2025, making her NRLW debut against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Round Eight.
Prior to joining the Raiders, Cardwell played for Mounties in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership, who the club has a partnership with in the women’s pathways space.
Lomas also returns to the club after being a development player in the side’s inaugural season in 2023.
The 21-year-old missed the 2024 season with an ACL injury before being a standout in the Katrina Fanning Shield for the West Belconnen Warriors team that won the Premiership in 2025.
Savage joins the club after two seasons in the Raiders Tarsha Gale Cup team, as well as being Lomas’ teammate at the West Belconnen Warriors in 2025.
The 18-year-old represented the Australian Schoolgirls in 2024 and 2025 and has also been selected in the Queensland Under 19s extended squad for the 19s Origin game in June.
Piper has also spent the past two seasons with the Raiders Tarsha Gale Cup team and plays locally for the Belconnen United Sharks in the Katrina Fanning Shield.
A Boorowa Bushrangers junior, Piper spent some time with the Raiders NRLW squad in 2025, coming in as a development player later in the season due to injuries in the squad.
The 19-year-old has also been named in the NSW Country team for the Women’s Under 19s match against City this Sunday at WIN Stadium.
