Mackay’s own laces up for Indigenous All-Stars game
Jasmine Peters knows what she has to do this Saturday when she runs on to QBC Stadium for the Indigenous All-Stars match.
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Jasmine Peters knows what she has to do this Saturday when she runs on to QBC Stadium for the Indigenous All-Stars match.
Granted it’s a bigger arena but at just 18, the Mackay product has the representative runs on the board to leave her mark in the Indigenous Women’s All-Stars v NZ Māori Ferns in Townsville.
And you can guarantee there will be a loud and proud Peters contingent in the stadium backing their player’s every move.
“Very proud, as a dad and as a coach, and very proud for mum who is Indigenous and that whole side of the family,” dad Marco Peters said.
“(Jasmine) is in camp at the moment (since Monday) in Townsville and she’s been doing a lot of cultural stuff and has a pretty packed schedule.
“There’s a lot of community engagement and training.”
It’s an immersive experience for Jasmine who is carving out a name for herself in the NRLW sphere having come up through the system of the Northern Marlins and becoming one of the youngest in the inaugural State of Origin U18s side in 2019.
Marco credits the Cutters Academy with giving his daughter the right exposure and opportunities to develop her playing career – something he knows she is grateful for.
That foundational exposure to rugby league through the Cutters was critical, Marco said, as it identified the women’s program as essential to the game’s growth and player development.
“It’s putting the right framework out there for the young girls to achieve,” he said.
“Jasmine is very thankful of the opportunities in Mackay with the Cutters Academy since she was 14.
“I’ve got to give the Mackay Cutters a real plug here, and the local league, because they identified the women’s program as essential.”
Her experience will hold her in good stead in the big arena as she “doesn’t really get too nervous”, Marco said.
“At the moment she’s just taking it all in,” he said.
“She’s getting to meet some NRLW players and mixing with them – she’s a confident kid.
“She’s got family supporting her and because of going through the academy and she has a wonderful group of girls at Brothers; some real good people around her.”
Marco said the Rugby League Mackay and District had been really supportive of his daughter, something for which he was also grateful.
More stories:
Peters: Pathway will attract more players to women’s game
Mackay teenagers in inaugural Maroons under-18 team
And until she takes to the field, Marco said Jasmine was kept busy with community engagement through the Cowboys Academy including being chosen as one of the players to open the Cowboys Centre of Excellence on Thursday and a Deadly Choices jersey unveiling.
The pre-match publicity and community engagement would go a long way to increasing the profile of NRLW in North Queensland – something Marco said he hoped to see continue to grow.
It is also showcase the opportunities his own daughter has enjoyed, he said.
“This will hopefully showcase that the region can have an NRLW side and it will help the region’s ladies realise they don’t need to leave the region,” he said.
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