HNWP 2023

[10$ Ferret]

Will be interesting to see the team lists with the HNWP kicking off this coming weekend.
The addition of the Dragons and St Illawara and the demise of St Marys will have some interesting player movements..
If you are going out to a game please put up a report after

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Will be interesting to see the team lists with the HNWP kicking off this coming weekend.
The addition of the Dragons and St Illawara and the demise of St Marys will have some interesting player movements..

Sarah Togatuki, Elsie Albert and Rikeya Horne were the most well-known at St Marys last year. Sarah has joined the Bears. Don't know about the other two.

If you are going out to a game please put up a report after

Unfortunately my nearest game is over ten thousand miles away. The livestream is Bulldogs v Dragons at Belmore.

If NSWRL TV are showing games from the COE this year, hope they build a higher vantage point for the main camera. Can't stand TV games shot from a low angle. Gives no real appreciation of the patterns of play.

 

[10$ Ferret]

I think Rikeya is heading to the bears too. Do you know why St Marys pulled the pin ?

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Do you know why St Marys pulled the pin ?

I don't. If I'm speculating, it might echo the situation where the QRL wanted the composition of the BMD premiership aligned with the men's Q Cup. That meant Wests Panthers and Valleys knew in advance they wouldn`t be included beyond a stated date irrespective of on-field performance.

NSWRL might have given similar signals that they`re aiming to maximize harmony between teams in their top men's and women's comps. Thus Saints may have seen the writing on the wall and decided to focus resources on junior female grades.

I think Rikeya is heading to the bears too.

Love Rikeya. Mercurial talent. Hasn't had the space to really flourish in any of her teams the past couple of years. Full-back is one obvious answer. Coaches would need convincing about the reliability of her defence though.

The Bears have also signed Filomina Hanisi from Mounties. Added to last year's squad, the new players probably make them premiership favourites. Hope the club's commitment to female RL isn't just a means to an end.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Elsie Albert has landed at Wenty. I saw PNG at the Women's RLWC. Elsie wasn't in great form. Maybe it was the climate. Another Orchid Jessikah Reeves is in this week's Central Coast list. Think Easts Tigers was her club in SEQ.

Teagan Berry has left the Sharks and joined the Steelers where she first made her name in their 2019 Tarsha Gale Cup premiership success. That team was captained by Maddison Weatherall. What happened to her? Touted as the gun young forward, game time for the Dragons in NRLW the same year, seems to have sunk without trace.

Bulldogs have signed Holli Wheeler, Abbi Church, Gayle Broughton, the Cherrington sisters, among others. Should be competitive.

A player named as a reserve for Wests Tigers caught my eye. Erin Coll has played for Ireland and Dublin City Exiles. Anybody know if she's actually Irish or just a returned Aussie?

Some names in the lists are recognizable from recent Tarsha Gale Cup teams. The preponderance of younger players is currently a striking feature of women's RL everywhere. It appears that teenagers who've played through the grades have the edge on those in their mid 20s who had to stop aged 12.

It's even more noticeable in England where, other than a few development squads, we don't have an under-19s comp. It's straight from under-16s into open-age. A number of our teams consist of a couple of players in their 30s surrounded by 17-18 year-olds.

Two of our best prospects, Hollie Dodd and Francesca Goldthorp, were playing regular WSL as 16 year-olds. Hollie made the BBC national news when she played for Castleford in the women's CC final a day after turning 16.

 

[10$ Ferret]

It was a good thing that the NSWRL did by raising the age of the Tarsha Gale to U19. There are players that are def good enough to go straight into opens at 18 but still alot that needed that extra year and were getting lost in the void.
Not sure whats happened to Maddie Weatherall, good young lady I hope she is playing somewhere

 

[League Unlimited News]

Teamlists and officials: https://leagueunlimited.com/news/leagueunlimited-tarsha-gale-teams-2023-round-1/

 

[ALX25]

It was a good thing that the NSWRL did by raising the age of the Tarsha Gale to U19. There are players that are def good enough to go straight into opens at 18 but still alot that needed that extra year and were getting lost in the void.
Not sure whats happened to Maddie Weatherall, good young lady I hope she is playing somewhere

Motherhood.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Half-time Bulldogs 14 Dragons 4

Third Bulldogs try was a beauty. Mahalia Murphy in the team. Doesn't look quite the player she was with the Jillaroos in 2015, but should get better.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Full-time Bulldogs 54 Dragons 4

Dogs looking good. Final score a bit rough on the Dragons.

Didn't like the ref. Exasperating bobble hunter. One truly ludicrous obstruction call from a kick off.

 

[10$ Ferret]

Bulldogs certainly continuing the NRL philosophy of leave no $ unspent. They scored some great tries.
On the Tarsha Gale side of things, the Norths v Knights game was interesting, if the Bears ever learn to offload they will be a force to be reckoned with. The Manly win over the tigers was a surprise.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

On the Tarsha Gale side of things, the Norths v Knights game was interesting, if the Bears ever learn to offload they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Half the Knights seemed to be called Lilly. One such, the full-back, looks an exciting prospect. Better refereeing in this game. One of the Bears' tries demonstrated the value of a late offload and concomitant importance of refs not calling Held too early.

The North Sydney jersey got me wistfully reminiscing on their Winfield Cup 94 season.

The Manly win over the tigers was a surprise.

I noticed Manly were leading at half time. Thought they might get overrun in the second half. Just as I thought their season might be like last year's new Dolphins team in the QRL under-19s comp. Happy to be proven wrong. Three tries each, goal-kicking the difference.

The Sea-Eagles won't have many (if any?) local players. In some respects that's disappointing, but if they've managed to assemble a competitive squad for this year it shows that Storm/Roosters-style pathways can be quickly set up in the female game if a club has the will. And provides a target for any local girls playing in 12s-and-below grades.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

It was a good thing that the NSWRL did by raising the age of the Tarsha Gale to U19.

It's a great competition. The more years anyone can potentially play TG Cup the better for Rugby League.

If memory serves, the change to 19s came about by happenstance, in that when the 2020 season was cancelled the age was raised for 2021 to ensure the older ones didn't lose their final year.

 

[10$ Ferret]

Half the Knights seemed to be called Lilly. One such, the full-back, looks an exciting prospect. Better refereeing in this game. One of the Bears' tries demonstrated the value of a late offload and concomitant importance of refs not calling Held too early.

The North Sydney jersey got me wistfully reminiscing on their Winfield Cup 94 season.


I noticed Manly were leading at half time. Thought they might get overrun in the second half. Just as I thought their season might be like last year's new Dolphins team in the QRL under-19s comp. Happy to be proven wrong. Three tries each, goal-kicking the difference.

The Sea-Eagles won't have many (if any?) local players. In some respects that's disappointing, but if they've managed to assemble a competitive squad for this year it shows that Storm/Roosters-style pathways can be quickly set up in the female game if a club has the will. And provides a target for any local girls playing in 12s-and-below grades.

I don't know the make up of the Manly team, but there are a lot of young female athletes and Manly could easily field a very local side. Maybe its the Blacktown connection who knows. I did hear that many locals did not want to play while the Fultons were still involved. Their coach is a good man and I hope they do well

 

[10$ Ferret]

It's a great competition. The more years anyone can potentially play TG Cup the better for Rugby League.

If memory serves, the change to 19s came about by happenstance, in that when the 2020 season was cancelled the age was raised for 2021 to ensure the older ones didn't lose their final year.

I had never thought about it like that and it makes a lot of sense. I always thought it was about aligning it better with school so SG ball didn't clash with year 12

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

I don't know the make up of the Manly team, but there are a lot of young female athletes and Manly could easily field a very local side. Maybe its the Blacktown connection who knows. I did hear that many locals did not want to play while the Fultons were still involved. Their coach is a good man and I hope they do well

They held an invitational trial in Sep last year. Trialists came from all parts. Apparently Narraweena Hawks are the only under-18s girls team in the Manly junior league.

I was using the "pathways" cliché loosely. Point being that presently the entry-level bar in women's RL is much lower. Enterprising clubs can set up competitive teams with less investment than in the men's game.

In England last year Sheffield Eagles established their first ever women's team after a few messages on social media. This is South Yorkshire, non-heartland territory. Virtually all the players had never played League before. They won their division and in 2023 will play in a higher tier.

Growth in the female game will eventually plateau. Thereafter new initiatives will become more difficult.

 

[marshall stalin]

I don't. If I'm speculating, it might echo the situation where the QRL wanted the composition of the BMD premiership aligned with the men's Q Cup. That meant Wests Panthers and Valleys knew in advance they wouldn`t be included beyond a stated date irrespective of on-field performance.

NSWRL might have given similar signals that they`re aiming to maximize harmony between teams in their top men's and women's comps. Thus Saints may have seen the writing on the wall and decided to focus resources on junior female grades.


Love Rikeya. Mercurial talent. Hasn't had the space to really flourish in any of her teams the past couple of years. Full-back is one obvious answer. Coaches would need convincing about the reliability of her defence though.

The Bears have also signed Filomina Hanisi from Mounties. Added to last year's squad, the new players probably make them premiership favourites. Hope the club's commitment to female RL isn't just a means to an end.

Strange one though as St Mary's are in the Penrith area so when Penrith are admitted into the NRLW comp they will need a side in the HNWP.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Strange one though as St Mary's are in the Penrith area so when Penrith are admitted into the NRLW comp they will need a side in the HNWP.

Are you suggesting this is a formal or informal requirement?

If formal, the Raiders don't have an equivalent team in the NSWRL premiership.

If informal, a Panthers NRLW squad would recruit from all sources. They'd probably prioritize, as Parra did, bringing back those who learned their football in the Penrith junior league. A healthy number will likely have come through the St Marys system.

Panthers haven't yet declared much interest in acquiring a NRLW licence. Other clubs seem keener.

NRLW expansion may be in abeyance for the foreseeable future anyway. Moving from 6 to 10 in one go is highly ambitious given the limited size of the specific fanbase for the women's game. Might well be circumspect to let this enlargement bed in for a considerable period of time.

AFLW demonstrates the dangers of expanding a comp beyond the desire and capacity of the governing body to adequately fund it.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Half-time Tarsha Gale Cup livestream - Dragons 4 Tigers 12

Entertaining game. Tempo is amazing in the conditions. These girls are frighteningly good. As things stand, we have nothing to compete with this in England.

 

[Ride the Lion to Zion]

Full-time - Dragons 14 Tigers 18

Controversial finish. Dragons looked to have stolen it on the last play. Ref or touchie must have ruled a knock-on over the line.