The Dragons are proud to announce that Raecene McGregor and Zali Hopkins have been named co-captains for the upcoming NRLW season.
McGregor has skippered the squad for the past two campaigns and is this season joined by Hopkins who recently with the club.
The 2022 Dally M Medallist, McGregor re-joined the Dragons – where she made her NRLW debut in the club’s inaugural match in 2018 – ahead of the 2023 season.
The 27-year-old has crafted one of the sport’s great resumés having secured three NRLW premierships to go along with a Pacific Championships title with the Kiwi Ferns whilst being one of just seven players to have made 40-plus NRLW appearances.
Hopkins meanwhile returns for her fourth campaign as a Dragon after making her NRLW debut for the club at five-eighth in Round 4, 2022 and playing a role in the side’s charge towards the postseason.
The 23-year-old is fresh off a career year in which she appeared in all nine of the club’s matches scoring a try and assisting on four others.
“Raecene and Zali have both been immense throughout preseason and deserve the honour of captaining the Dragons,” Head Coach Nathan Cross said.
“Raecene has attacked preseason with a really impressive level of drive and enthusiasm. Her teammates and coaches hold her in such high regard here. Her voice holds a lot of weight and what she’s accomplished in this game speaks for itself. She’s a strong leader and I know she’s in for a really big year.
“I’ve seen Zali grow so much as a person and player throughout our time together; she’s really earned this responsibility. She’s one of the club’s longest tenured players whilst also being a natural leader and an awesome teammate. She’s been working extremely hard through preseason, and I can’t wait to see what 2025 holds for her.”
