Hilisha is an Australian Resident, was born in New Zealand and is of Scottish, Irish, New Zealand Maori, Hawaiian, Niuean, Tongan and Samoan descent.
Hilisha is a dual code Queensland female sportsperson having represented the state in both Rugby Union for the Queensland Reds as a utility forward for seven years and American Football for Queensland Sundevils as a rookie Right Guard in 2024.
Hilisha started playing sport from a junior age in South Auckland, New Zealand where she learnt core motor mechanics and early foundations in sport participating in Netball, Triathlons, Cross Country, Athletics, Kiwi Tag, Rugby League and Touch Football in both school and club.
After migrating to Australia in 1998 as a teenager in 1999, Hilisha joined the Norths Junior Barbarians girls team in Kedron-Wavell Heights under the Brisbane Junior Rugby Union (BJRU) competition for young females. Hilisha continued to actively play Rugby Union in the women’s Queensland Premier Grade for many Southeast QLD clubs before settling in at her home club at GPS Rugby Union down at Yoku Road in Ashgrove.
From the age of 19 years old Hilisha has been a Queensland Reds, Player of National Interest (PONI)/ Australian Wallaroos development player since 2005, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. She also was invited in 2005 to train with the Australian Jillaroos Women's Rugby League program after a successful club season with West Mitchelton and then Souths Logan Magpies but chose Rugby Union.
Hilisha made her first representative side in the Brisbane Invitational Squad at age 18 years old and then her debut for the newly named women’s Queensland Reds Squad in 2005. Hilisha debuted for Australia Wallaroos in 2017, travelling on two tours for Australia in the Trans-Tasman squad to New Zealand where she was capped Wallaroo #152 and debuted in her first XV Rugby World Cup squad in Ireland.
Hilisha has played eight test matches for Australia and gained recognition for her Rugby Union efforts and outstanding performances in 2017 as the Australian Wallaroo Rugby Union Women’s Player of the Year, including 2017 AON Player of the Match vs. Ireland and several 2017 Best & Fairest Awards whilst on tour in NZ & Ireland.
Hilisha is currently playing American Football (Gridiron) for home club Moreton Bay Raptors in Deception Bay and is training to compete in the 2024/2025 Queensland Women's American Football league. She also plays Flag Football for Little Red Hoodz in the North Flag Football league in Deception Bay. Hilisha now aspires to become a triple code Sportswoman for both Queensland and Australia in all three codes: American Football, Flag Football and Rugby Union. She is on board with Minerva Network to upskill, learn and develop as a female sportsperson on and off the field.
Outside of sport Hilisha is a proud single stay-at-home mum and a contracted Author with Austin Macauley with a poetry collection due to be released in 2025. She also is employed by Queensland Rugby Union as a casual Games Development Officer and has recently volunteered to assist as a Sports Coach with her previous college, Mary MacKillop College in Nundah.
Hilisha is also a Student Associate with Sports Medicine Australia studying to become a Sports trainer.
Hilisha is grateful for her upbringing and sporting experiences and hopes to inspire and motivate families and youth to participate in Sport from a young age that will help break down barriers in everyday life by displaying positive action and behaviours through her own experiences and sporting success and journey.
