Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | China Efrosinia Polata | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 February 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 69 kg (10 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Prop, Second-row, Lock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [1] As of 20 November 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
China Polata (born 26 February 2002) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL Women's Premiership.
she previously played as a Second-row for the North Queensland Cowboys.
Polata was born in Brisbane, Queensland and is of Tongan and Ukrainian descent. [2] She attended John Paul College in Daisy Hill and played her junior rugby league for the Redbank Plains Bears. [3]
In 2018, Polata represented Queensland at the under-17 national rugby sevens championships at Ballymore Stadium. [4]
In 2019, Polata began playing rugby league for Brothers St Brendans and represented Queensland under-18 in their 24–4 loss to New South Wales. In August 2019, she signed a development contract with the Brisbane Broncos. [5] [6]
In 2020, Polata played for the Souths Logan Magpies in the QRL Women's Premiership. She tore her ACL later that year, missing the entire 2021 season. [7]
In Round 4 of the delayed 2021 NRL Women's season, Polata made her NRLW debut for the Broncos on the wing against the Gold Coast Titans. [8] Following the NRLW season, she played for Souths Logan in the QRL Women's Premiership. [9]
In June, she made her international debut for Tonga, starting at five-eighth and scoring a try in their 50–12 loss to New Zealand. [10] In November, Polata moved to Townsville, in hopes of gaining a contract with the newly established North Queensland Cowboys NRLW team. [11]
Polata began the 2023 season playing for the Mackay Cutters in the QRL Women's Premiership. [12]
On 10 May, Polata signed with the North Queensland Cowboys. [13] On 23 June, she made her State of Origin debut for Queensland, starting on the wing in Game II of the 2023 State of Origin series. [14]
In Round 1 of the 2023 NRL Women's season, she made her debut for the Cowboys, starting on the wing in a 16–6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans. [15] In Round 2, she was named to start on the wing but played at prop in a 31–20 win over the Newcastle Knights. [16] In Round 4, he scored her first NRLW try in a 16–12 win over the Wests Tigers. [17]
In Round 1 of the 2024 NRL Women's season, Polata started at second-row Cowboys' 14–0 loss to the Cronulla Sharks. [18] In Round 6, she tore her ACL in a loss to the Broncos, ruling her out for the remainder of the season. [19]
In Round 8 of the 2025 NRL Women's season, Polata returned from her ACL injury, scoring a try in the Cowboys' 30–8 win over the Wests Tigers. [20]
On 7 November 2025 it was reported that she had signed for Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL Women's Premiership on a 2-year deal. [21]