Shakira Baker: Warriors Women player on the team's upcoming match against the Titans

Big Warriors doubleheader at Mt Smart this weekend.

The Warriors women's and men's sides will both be facing their Gold Coast Titans counterparts.

Shakira Baker has made the transition from Sevens and Fifteens to join the women's side. She spoke to D'Arcy Waldegrave on Sportstalk.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Darcy Wildergrave
from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm Darcy water Grave. This is Sports Thought right, let's
talk about n l W, the New Zealand that women's decide.
The Warriors women's team are playing the Titans, part of
a double header on Saturday at go Media, Mount Smart,
et cetera, et cetera. We're joined now by one of
the players, a former Seventh Platform Black Ferns player now

(00:34):
a Warrior. The name is Shakira Baker.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Good evening, securra Hi, Good evening.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
How are you look at ahead to this weekend? It's huge.
You're a double header? Are the Titans against the Wires
and the Titans against the Waheny Wars. I'm not quite
sure what the nickname should be.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
What is it?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
What do you girls call yourselves?

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, we're just one New Zealand Warriors women's at the moment,
we haven't really Yeah, I think that's what we're We've
decided to call ourselves.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
I'll find a ridiculous nickname and you won't agree with me,
and you normally can. But that's okay, that's the way
these things roll. So you're an accomplished code player in
sevens and rugby union at the very top level. For
the Black Ferns, you played Hurricanes Power. Now you find
yourself playing rugby league. What's the transition being like for you.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
I'm enjoying it. It's refreshing, it's something new. I'm learning
the game every new things every day, so I'm really
enjoying the transition.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Physically.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
It's been demanding in a big difference I'm finding from
the different codes, especially the position that I've been playing.
But I'm really enjoying the journey so far.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
What drove you to make this decision to disappear off
to rugby league. What was the primary driver behind that move.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
I think it was the opportunity to continue to be
an athlete. And I guess after I've I've sort of
done it everything I possibly could in the union space
and at the top level, and I guess challenging myself
in a different code, and yeah, again, I guess the

(02:17):
opportunity to play and to train as an athlete and
get paid to do it sort of entice me to
cross code a little bit.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Get paid to do it. That's an absolute key, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Yeah, definitely, you take.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
So much time off when you're representing, especially for the
Wahini earlier on. Anyway, the last kind of teen years
it's been different. So this is hugely important as far
as what you bring to the field from your sevens
experience and form your Black Ferns experience. What do you
think is the key for you that you can help
with the rest of the team as opposed to you

(02:53):
just learning rugby league.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
I guess it's obviously being at a high performing level
for so long. I guess in that space the nrlws
sort of finding their feet in the profession a sort
of world, so I guess as an athlete bringing that
culture into the team, but also on the field, I'm not.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
I'm sort of your bigger sort.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Of athletes, So I guess, yes, trying to use my
size and my speed, I guess on the field and
sort of, yeah, dominate in that area.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
With you playing your game on offense, there's one thing
on defense and working out the structures of rugby league.
How's that transition going?

Speaker 1 (03:36):
Yeah, quite difficult, I'm sort of. I guess in preseason
it was sort of trying to get rid.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
Of those Union habits of placing the ball and.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
I'm pretty sure I would have gone rather if I
did that on my first r LW game.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
But yeah, I guess those.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Little subtle differences, and you know, and Union you're trying
to get up to your feet as fast as possible,
but in league you're trying to hold them down for
as long as possible. So yeah, there's little subtle differences
the tackle, tea nicks and things like that that I'm
sort of trying to improve every week, and the major
differences that I'm trying to get used.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
To also from playing out why because you played fullback, wing,
maybe sometimes center and rugby and there you're coming in
the second row. That has been quite a transition as well.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yeah, well my first couple of games, I think it
was a majority of tackles that I was making rather
than getting ball in hand, which is also mentally challenging
for me because there's the positions that I played in
sevens and fifteen's it was more attack focused. So it's
definitely a change that I'm getting used to, but also

(04:46):
knowing that you're adding value to the team and you're
doing and that's what you're employed to do. So just
having that mental change and shift I guess in that area.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
You still got a burst of speed. Have you a
turn of speed, because as we've seen in that second row,
if you've got a bit of towel about, and also
you said you bring up a lot of bulk to
their possession because you're a bigger athlete, this must be
an absolute joy. Can you Can you still like blaze people?
Can you still set your feet on fire and disappear?

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah? I just I'm just trying to find the right
hole to give me in a hole and to to
sort of stretch my legs a little bit and sort
of was watching the men's game last week and sort
of the number eleven liquor, I think it is get
that runaway.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
I was like, man, I want to be like him.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
So now, yeah, still trying to find my feet in
the attacking sort of sense, but yeah, I want to
stretch the legs a little bit.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
I was going to mention Leacka Halasima as well. I
thought that might be a bit too close, but of
course you'll be watching going I want to do that
as well. What have you been learning from the coaching staff?
They're just a message from Ron straight to you. What's
been their big workthrough.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
I think it's just, yeah, they're sort of drip feeding
little things to focus on throughout the games and and
sort of they don't want to over flood me with
content and sort of give me two to three main focuses,
which is really good, and just ticking off those things.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
So it's going to be.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
You're not going to get and he's big on you're
not going to get everything right, but as long as
we tick off off things and improve each week, that's
what he's probably installed in to me, which has been
really good. So it takes off that pressure. And as
a high performing athlete, you know, you always want to
be the best and do the best, but understanding that
this is a new code and a new game that

(06:39):
I'm trying to learn. So he's been really good and
also the experience skills and giving me little pointers into
being better and improving each time. But yeah, not dwelling
on the mistakes but taking them as key learnings.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
What's the fitness requirements like compared to sevens. I mean
sevens are ridiculously fit, but in that a different type
of fitness that you require. You're working through that, okay.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
AE hundred percent, it's a different energy system that you're
working and it's the wrestling, it's the it's the physicality
and then going from six tackles and then going on
to attack and you know that stuff is I didn't
realize actually until I was in it. You know, you
think you've been in sevens and you've been at you know,

(07:28):
you've done the hardest sort of training that there is,
but then you come I've come to league and realized like,
this is this is taxing.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
On the body.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
And yeah, so it's you know sevens is and fifteen's
is different, but league is different again. And preseason was good,
but it wasn't until we got to our first game
and now having our third game under about you know
what to expect, you know what the.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Collisions are going to be like. But yeah, it was.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
Defferitely a wake up call when we were getting into
our preseason and the tackle, going into tackle and then
having to wrestle and then get up and go again,
and it's and it's quite a fast game you don't
realize and getting back to that ten as well and
going again. So now, yeah, it was definitely eye opening
and I definitely take my head off to t league

(08:20):
players and the fitness requirements that are Yeah, that they
that they do.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
I'd say you're taking it's like a duck to water.
You sound like you're really happy. You sound like you're
having a great time. You're definitely challenged by what you're facing,
but you're rising to that occasion. Is that right? Are
you in a happy space secure?

Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah? Definitely am, Like, I'm grateful to be here. And
I think it's a testament to the culture that our
management and our teams sort of put in place and
allowing everyone to be who they who they are and yeah,
and then just knowing that we're not going to get
it right, but as long as we take the learnings, like, yeah,
it's a cool environment to be involved in, and yeah,

(09:06):
I'm really happy at where I'm at at the moment.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
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