GOALS IN SIGHT
Female league players see hope for future
FORGET Manly, there’s a team from Townsville’s northern beaches about to really make waves. Steph Ullmann, coach of Northern Beaches State High School’s girls rugby league program, has urged the Cowboys to field a team in the NRL women’s competition, applauding the governing body for giving players the pathway they’ve been craving. The road to the top became a lot clearer for 16year- old Taelah Dudman and her teammates when the NRL announced this week “up to six” teams affiliated with NRL clubs would be part of the fledgling women’s league next year. In past years a large number of players have been lost to the game with opportunities drying up after girls turn 12.
The Cowboys have indicated they will explore the possibility of fielding a women’s team once they’re presented with more detail.
At one stage this year Ullmann boasted 59 players in her program, and she believes a Cowboys team would result in numbers exploding further across the North.
“It’d be phenomenal, because the amount of pathways boys get is just a given,” Ullmann said.
“Their scouts are always looking at the boys at the bigger schools and if there was a girls element with the Cowboys, you’ll have them coming to look.
“League’s definitely lost a lot of talent through the years. If you look at the AFLW comp that’s exploded there was a lot of girls leaving other sports to play that because there’s a bit of money in it.
“If the Cowboys had a girls’ faction of the club it would be hugely supported by schools and the local community, for sure.”
Ullmann said a pathway linking the grassroots with the World Cupwinning Australian Jillaroos at the top level was sorely needed.
“As soon as you get to 12 the pathway for girls has stopped for so many years, and if you look at the Jillaroos the average age is 30,” Ullmann said. “You’ve got retiring captains who are 35 and older, and the Kiwi captain is 37.
“There hasn’t been enough of a pathway for women, because there hasn’t been that stepping stone the boys have.”
The Northern Beaches Brumbies junior and senior teams play St Anthony’s Catholic College for the Stoney Creek Cup each year, take on other Townsville schools in carnivals and also travel to Cairns.
“At one point 16 per cent of our female students were playing footy, in a school of 700 or 800 it’s quite a lot,” she said.
Northern Beaches player Taelah Dudman said the introduction of an NRL women’s league would help more girls stick with the sport.
“I’ve played over 25 games this year and it’s definitely getting bigger with the girls,” she said. “I’ve been playing rugby league for a year now and I want to put it into my career.
“It’s definitely the most fun sport I’ve ever played and I hope other girls see that too.”