Women’s rugby league has surged in popularity in recent years and the local competition is no different.
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The annual competition is back again this year with the start of the tournament set down for this Saturday in Inverell.
The Guyra Super Spuds will enter a team for the first time and league tag captain Britt Youman put her hand up to try the sport.
She said there has been a bit of local interest and a few players from outside Guyra eager to pull on the Spuds’ jersey.
“We have good numbers. We struggled for a couple of weeks but found a couple more people,” she said.
“We have a bit of experience we have a couple of ladies from Tingha that have played before and a few girls played in the Group 4 comp last year but then we have a couple that have never played any type of rugby league before.
“I’m probably looking forward to actually playing tackle I’ve never played before because I’ve had a bad knee the other years I just want to have fun.”
The growth of the sport saw Country Rugby League announce major changes for their representative pathways in tackle football.
From next year, women across country NSW will have the chance to play at a representative level for their Group, through to the Country Championships tournament.
Group 19 will be selecting a representative team for next year’s Greater Northern Championships.
From the Greater Northern event, a regional representative team will be picked.
If selected, women from the Group 19 area have the chance to rise up through the representative ranks and open up pathways to play high-level rugby league.
Youman said it is an exciting prospect for locals to have the chance to reach greater heights in the sport.
“Being in the country we are always one step behind, and for women like me who love their footy this opportunity to play is amazing,” she said.
“We have never had an opportunity like this.
“We’re all extremely keen. Guyra has never had a team in the tackle comp so it could be interesting.
“Hopefully we have lots of support on the weekend.”
The competition will be contested over three Saturdays – October 20, October 27 and November 3 – at Inverell’s Kamilaroi Oval.
Each team will play two games on each day.
Teams nominated to play so far are Guyra, Glen Innes, Uralla, Tenterfield, Guyra, Warialda, Narwan and Moree Boomerangs.
Registrations have been low so far and the Group are asking player to sign up as soon as possible.