Is the women's competition so very different from the men's that the NZ National League champions are being pushed to their limits by island teams?
Yeah pretty similar. Bearing in mind they are playing the best footballers these Islands nations have. For all we know some of these Island club teams, could just be stacked national teams in disguise.
The best 50 odd NZ footballers (especially in the mens game, but increasingly also in the womens as well) are either overseas or in the A League.
For now winning this tourney doesn't mean much, but soon it likely will.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Women%27s_Club_World_Cup#:~:text=In%20December%202022%20FIFA%20announced,Club%20World%20Cup%20in%202026.
In December 2022 FIFA announced plans to establish a Women's Club World Cup, but the women's football calendar would remain unchanged until 2025.[12] In January 2024, The Athletic reports that FIFA aims for an inaugural Women's Club World Cup in 2026.