Trilleen Pomare will once again lead the Western Force as the Club’s captain in the 2025 Super Rugby Women’s season with local Wallaroo Hera-Barb Malcolm Heke elevated to vice-captain.
The Force’s Super W squad held a player vote for the captaincy and leadership roles at last week’s Maali Camp with 32-cap Wallaroos back Pomare reinstated for the fifth straight season.
The initiative behind the player vote was for the playing group to take charge of the side’s direction in 2025.
Wanneroo star Pomare, 31, has been a mainstay of the Force since the inaugural 2018 season, becoming the Force’s first female player to reach the 25-cap milestone and leading the side to its maiden finals appearance last season.
Pomare will be supported by Kalamunda hooker Malcolm Heke, who had an outstanding 2024 season leading to her Wallaroos debut alongside Pomare against Canada in Sydney in May.
Malcolm Heke has played 19 times for the Force in Super W, debuting in the 2019 season, becoming a regular over the past three seasons since returning after the birth of her son Jade.
Force women’s head coach Dylan Parsons said: “Trilleen got the most votes for captain by far, which shows how respected she is and how good she is at the role.
“Hera-Barb is a bit of a mother of the group with the support and conversations she offers behind the scenes.
“She demands a lot of respect, due to what she’s been able to achieve in the last 12 months and being a leader in the RugbyWA community. Hera leads by actions on the field and the players listen when she has something to say.
“I think she’ll be a really good support for Trill. They’ve known each other for a long time and understand how each other operate.”
Force players also voted for a three-player leadership group to support the captain and vice-captain, including voting for one emerging leader aged under 23.
Michaela Leonard, Anneka Stephens and Nicole Ledington were voted into the Force’s 2025 Super W leadership group.
Leonard is a 29-year-old lock, who moved to the Force from the ACT Brumbies prior to the 2023 season and captained the Wallaroos in 2024. Leonard has played 30 Super W games, including 11 for the Force.
Wanneroo back-rower Stephens is a 35-year-old mother-of-four who has played 11 times for the Force in Super W, including an outstanding 2024 season where her tireless play was a feature before winning Fortescue Premier Grade’s Sue Roberts Trophy.
Ledington is a 21-year-old fly-half who plays her club rugby in WA for Kalamunda and spent time with Wests Bulldogs in Queensland club rugby in the off-season to better her game. She’s played 15 times for the Force.
“It’s a really good balance in that leadership group,” Parsons said. “The group offer different levels of experience and skillsets.
“Neeks and Mac are senior players, with Mac being the current international captain too. Neeks is always a leader in whatever team or code she’s apart of. They demand a lot of respect and will make the group even stronger.
“Nicole is a local girl who has been part of the program for a number of years now. To be in a key position like she is on the field as a game-driver, it shows she’s stepped up in that space to be voted in by her peers.
“Having a stronger voice. I think she’s going to grow even more with the people around her in the leadership group to kick her on even more.”
