The Newcastle Knights will make its debut in the Tarsha Gale Cup tonight and among the squad will be representatives from Port Stephens.
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Ellie Russell from Seaham, one of the Port girls named in the Knights’ first junior tackle squad, said she was “nervous” and “excited” about playing her first game.
“It’s an honour to be selected for the team,” the 17-year-old said. “It’s really amazing how much girls footy has grown. To be playing with and against these great girls is special.”
Russell’s league career started with representing Hunter River High School.
She played for the Raymond Terrace Ravens in the league tag competition then with the Roosters in Country Rugby League’s nines tackle tournament last year.
Russell, a Year 12 student, was one of 25 juniors picked for the Knights squad in its maiden Tarsha Gale Cup berth.
The women’s under-18s, nine-a-side competition was established last year in an historic move for women’s rugby league. A national competition, which features 10 clubs, it is named after former Jillaroo and NSW captain Tarsha Gale from the 1990s.
Josh Potapczyk, head coach of the Cup squad, said he has high expectations for the team.
“We have set out expectations at making it into the semi-finals this season, we think that’s a reasonable goal to have,” Potapczyk said.
“From there it’s anyone’s game. Most of the team is made up of girls that impressed in the Central Coast-Hunter Women’s Nines tournament, it’s got that local flair.”
The Knights squad has run out twice so far this year, downing the Canberra Raiders and losing to the reigning champions in the Penrith Panthers in trial games.
“Both trials were fantastic, they might not have both been the results we wanted but there were a lot of positives from both,” Potapczyk said. “It was good to see how we shaped up to a competition powerhouse in the Panthers, regardless of the loss.”
The heart of the team will be captain Sophie Buller, who played with the Cronulla Sharks last season, and Potapczyk is expecting immediate impact.
“Buller is a fantastic player to have in our engine room, she’s great in attack and has a fantastic defence,” he said. “She’s got that experience that will be key for the rest of the talented girls coming in to the new top league.”
The first match will be played at Dudley Oval on Thursday evening, kicking off at 6pm.
The Knights will look to claim their first win of the campaign towards the finals against the other debut team, the Saint George Illawarra Dragons.
Newcastle will also play home games at Maitland and Cessnock’s Sports Ground over the nine round season. See the full Cup schedule here.
Fielding a Tarsha Gale Cup side this season is another step the Knights have taken in their road to forming its first senior women’s team.
Newcastle have expressed an interest in housing a franchise for the inaugural NRL Women’s Premiership later this year, but participating clubs have yet to be confirmed.
“With the NRL about to create a competition for women, Tarsha Gale Cup will become the first introduction to that,” Newcastle elite pathway manager Casey Bromilow said.
“We’re trying to create some footballers that go onto represent the Knights at the elite level.”