Tag marks from trail blazers
THE unsung heroes of any footy club are the mums, partners, sisters and daughters who staff the canteen and support players in more ways than one.
Thanks to League Tag, not only do youngsters now have a pathway to tackle football but the sideline women can now pull on the boots at Cudgen.
Previously after finishing junior contact footy at 12 years old until seniors at 18, local girls did not have an option to get on the field.
The idea of League Tag – a mixture of league and Oztag – is not new, however this year is only the second season Cudgen has fielded a team.
One of only two trail-blazing female coaches in the local league, the Cudgen Hornets’ inaugural coach Letitia Kelly said not only had the game provided an option for older women who would normally be on the sidelines, but had already provided an entry for six players into the Northern Rivers Rugby League Titans team.
Two of the players, including Kelly’s daughter Zamara, have taken strides already towards their goals of making the Jillaroos.
Born and bred on the Gold Coast, Kirra Steadman, 25, has been tossing around the ball in touch games since she was six.
The Hornets captain continued her passion into adulthood and had a two-season stint at Burleigh from 15 to 16.
The recent Southern Cross University masters graduate in clinical exercise physiology is also a qualified personal trainer and nutritionist and lives in Coolangatta. “She is the epitome of a leader,” Kelly said. “Just the type of person that you want to have in your team, in your club and just on your side in general.
“A good role model for not only the club but the community in general.
“She encourages young people to get involved and the team do a few sessions with her circuit training during the week. There was no hesitation as to why have her as my captain.”
Steadman started off with the club’s League Tag team last year and during a gala day to encourage the women to try tackle football was chosen to represent NRRL in the women’s Titans team.
From there it was a quick sidestep to training with the Seagulls in the Queensland competition. Fellow Seagulls training partner Zamara Kelly also caught the eye of recruiters for the same Titans squad.
Training with all three teams each week, the younger Kelly followed in her mother’s footsteps and has played touch and Oztag her whole life.
The 19-year-old from Fingal Heads has now turned her attention to contact football and is focusing on improving her tackling technique. The SCU bachelor of business student started league tag with the Tweed Coast Raiders in 2016 before transitioning to Cudgen in 2019.
The coach invited more women to join the team for the season launch on March 1 – which will also feature a gala day for under-14-16 junior girls – and to come and try the game at Cudgen RLFC fields.