Women’s footy facing new challenge

MANAGING workloads during the representative season has long been a factor in men’s rugby league but it is quickly coming into the picture in the burgeoning women’s game.

Burleigh, who defeated Souths 26-6 on Saturday, have had a number of players involved in State of Origin, NRL top 40 and National Championships camps in recent times between their club commitments.

Bears coach Tahnee Norris said player management is becoming a necessity as the game heads down the elite path.

“You want to try to do the right thing by them (representative players) and rest them as much as you can because you don’t want them getting injured,” she said.

“So you have to be smart how much game time you give them or whether you even play them at all.

“The more and more commitments that they have got, it is going to have a big impact on the (SEQ) competition.”

Tallisha Harden, Burleigh’s lock and captain who made her Queensland debut last month, added recovery methods are rising in prominence.

“The education around how to take care of our bodies is so important,” Harden said.

The victory over Souths extended Burleigh’s unbeaten streak to seven games and Norris said competition for spots is driving her squad to not let down their guard as finals approach.

“The fact that they are fighting for position is probably the best thing that we have got at the moment because they do have to play good footy every week if they want to make that top 13,” she said.

“We have got rep players coming off the bench. It is such a good thing to have when you are trying to work out who the starting 13 are.”