Female surge in juniors sign-up

FAR North Queensland junior leagues are anticipating their largest number of female player registrations in 2020, with girls leading rugby league’s resurgence in the region.

Cairns-based QRL Northern Division assistant manager Robbie Moore said female participation was one of the most important areas of grassroots rugby league and, after a steady increase in recent years, girls’ numbers were ready to explode in the Far North this season.

“There’s just more pathways set out for the girls now, which is inspiring more females to take up the game of rugby league, which is really, really good,” he said.

“Northern is one of the divisions that’s been able to have continued growth, even if it is only small growth, but we’re expecting our biggest female numbers this year.

“The girls and women’s registrations are definitely propping our numbers up in our game.

‘’Without them, our numbers would be down.”

In the QRL’s 2019 annual report female participation numbers were shown to increase 59 per cent in the Northern division, from 1259 to 2004 players.

The Cairns and District Junior Rugby League had 287 junior females in 2018, which grew to 299 in 2019 – an increase of just 4.18 per cent.

However, Moore said he expected to see a much bigger spike in junior female participation in the Far North this year, spurred on by the burgeoning NRLW national competition, the inaugural QRLW statewide competition and the CDRL women’s tackle competition, which will return in 2020 for the first time in almost a decade.

He said having Eacham Junior Rugby League and Tully and Mossman junior clubs adopt concepts from the NRL Player Development Framework would hopefully lead to positive results in player numbers across the region, particularly young females.

“Eacham’s under-6s will play League Tag and then they’ll start doing the Tackle Safe Program when they go to the under-7s,” Moore said.

“The NRL guys put on a great delivery of the program.’’

An NRL female development session will be held on Saturday, February 22, at Jones Park from 10am-noon.

“Cowboys and Broncos development staff will be coming along to that one.’’

“These are the sessions that girls and women really should be getting to for our competitions moving forward,’’ Moore said.