Eighth women’s side confirmed for TRL

GOONDIWINDI has been accepted into the Toowoomba Rugby League women’s competition.

Goondiwindi Boars

RUGBY LEAGUE: Goondiwindi has become the eighth and final side to confirm a spot in the inaugural TRL Women’s competition.

The league was set to go ahead with seven teams, however the interest from women in the border town to play was too strong, prompting the last-minute application.

The inclusion of the Boars means they will join Brothers, Newtown, Southern Suburbs, Valleys, Pittsworth, Warwick and South Burnett as foundation clubs in the competition.

Goondiwindi president Tony Carter said he has been amazed with the response from the town to getting a side up and running.

“We’ve been getting about 22-25 players to training each night,” Carter said.

“Currently we’re in the process of trying to find a coach.

“(A-grade coach) Mark (Offerdahl) has been keeping an eye on them and said everything has been going well.

“I think a lot of it has to do with Mark and what he’s bringing to the club.”

The inclusion of the women means Goondiwindi will field sides in all five grades this season, something Carter is proud about.

“It’s very encouraging and the first time we’ll field five sides in any comp,” he said.

“The support from the local community will be there. This will bring a lot of families to the club.”

QRL operations manager Jackie Stephson said the renewed interest from Goondiwindi has served as a positive for the competition.

“Initially there wasn’t enough interest to register a team,” Stephson said.

“But the ladies have come out of the blue and really showed that they want to play, and the club has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

“Players across a number of teams have been a bit slow to get involved in some instances, whether that be to try and juggle their own lives or sort themselves out to make time.”

Stephson said the interest of women to get involved enough to form eight teams has exceeded the league’s wildest expectations.

“I didn’t think at all we’d be able to get eight teams straight away,” she said.

“Initially we were hoping for four, but eight is great, and we’ve managed to work out the draw to be pretty club friendly.

“We’ve tried as hard as possible to have all teams playing together, and about 80 per cent of the time they will be.

“This allows women to be able to watch their partners play later in the day, and vice versa, and the majority will be able to do that.”

The competition gets underway on March 21 with Newtown playing host to Southern Suburbs and South Burnett travelling to Goondiwindi.

Originally published as