Innisfail chase players for new women’s side
WOMEN with an interest in playing touch rugby league should prepare to lace their boots this weekend for the Innisfail Leprechauns Women’s Rugby League sign-on day.
This season, Cairns District Rugby League has introduced a non-contact format of the game for women.
All 11 clubs in the CDRL competition will enter a senior women’s team to compete in a 10-round season in line with the first 10 weeks of the men’s draw.
Leprechauns president Nick Souvlis said he was glad to see a women’s competition starting up in the Far North.
“It’s an introduction to rugby league – basically, it’s the first step in progression if the ladies would like to play contact rugby league,” he said.
“The rules are the same rules as rugby league, just in a touch version. That is just the first step. The tackling side of it won’t be for everyone who plays touch, but there will be certain girls who want to progress to the full version and that will happen.”
He encouraged women aged 16 and older to head along to Innisfail’s Callendar Park for the sign-on day from 9am on Saturday.
“We are hoping for a good roll up,” he said.
“We need 11 players to field a team, so we are looking for about 20 players.
“It will be a 10-week competition and the first round will be played on March 30.
“The CDRL is introducing it with a just short season first to see how it goes. It’s not just for women who want to play rugby league because it is basically an NRL version of touch.
“It’s not about winning, it’s about participating.”
Innisfail has a history of producing successful women players including WNRL player Kate Haren and Australian representative player Bianca Ambrum. Haren has coached the combined Innisfail/Tully junior rugby league team, the Southern Cyclones, for the past two seasons.
Younger girls aged six to 17 who wish to try rugby league are invited to join the Southern Cyclones.