Mackay Cutters women's’ team takes out BMD Premiership

A young woman with a bright future in rugby league has shared why being a professional player is difficult as women following her team win of the BMD Premiership.

The Mackay Cutters have just won the state women's rugby league championship for the first time ever. Picture: Facebook

At 18, NRLW player Lily Peacock is on the path for a bright future, already part of the Cowboys’ team.

Ms Peacock started playing footy more than six years ago and is no stranger to making sacrifices with her time for the sport.

Originally from Airlie Beach, she started playing in Mackay and had to make the drive down every week, before ultimately moving to Townsville at 17.

When she and her teammates for the Mackay Cutters on the BMD Premiership had to do the drive down and train at Townsville each week nothing was out of the ordinary.

“What’s hard is to juggle training with work commitments,” she said explaining she was also a part time lifeguard.

Mackay Cutters' Lily Peacock has reacted to the team's big win on the weekend. Picture: Contributed

“We do not get paid nearly as much as men do because we’re not playing full time.

“But I would get bored if I wasn’t working on the side.”

Ms Peacock said she hoped NRLW would become a bigger sport, as there are currently 10 teams against 17 in NRL.

“One of my goals is to bring as many women as possible in the game, so it’s fully professional.”

“Football is winning today”

It was a historic weekend for Mackay rugby league as the city’s women’s team brought home the state championship for the first time.

The Cutters won the BMD Premiership after beating Brisbane’s Norths Devils 16-6 at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe on Saturday.

The Cutters replaced the North Queensland Gold Stars in the competition in 2023 and have now won the trophy in just their second year as a stand-alone program.

Mackay coach Marco Peters said he was proud of the team as they played in a tight contest.

He said he was glad there had not been many errors, and all players had good quality rugby, making the saying “football is winning today” a reality.

Team member Kayla Sheperd said the win had been “the best feeling” for the whole team.

“We deserved it because me and the girls we trained so hard for it,” she said.

Mackay Cutters' Kayla Sheperd has reacted to the team's big win on the weekend. Picture: Contributed

“Team of the North”

While the Cutters are Mackay-based, their players come all the way from the Torres Strait to Sarina, which means the victory is for the whole of North Queensland, Peters said.

Many players had to travel long distances back and forth during the season for trainings and games, something the club’s southeast Queensland rivals rarely had to do.

“We look at it as the team of the North,” Peters said.

“We were training once a week together, either in Mackay or Brisbane where we were playing for the game.

“So if you were in Townsville, you’d have to drive down each week.

“It shows that we’ve got a lot of resilient players in North Queensland.”

The game turned in the Cutters favour in the 22nd minute, when Sareka Mooka, Alisha Foord and Jasmine Peters scored combined for three unanswered tries, while a penalty goal was scored in the second half of the game.

Jasmine Peters and Marco Peters. Photo: Erick Lucero/QRL

Peters coached his daughter, Queensland State of Origin player and Cowboys star centre Jasmine, in the win.

He said training his own daughter has meant facing “difficult times,” but that they had done it for a very long time and have managed to keep a “good relationship.“

He also said this was the last time that he would coach her, and that he took it as a very special moment for them to share.

Some of the Cutters girls are already contracted by the Cowboys NRLW team, while others are still chasing their first professional contracts.

Mr Peters said he hoped the win would mean some spots would open up for his girls next year, especially Kayla Sheperd, who is soon having a trial with the Cowboys.