Newcastle Knights cheerleaders; Central Coast girls urged to try out
Can you step up? Have you got what it takes to bring it? Here’s your chance to become a NRL cheerleader.
While the focus has been on coaching staff and finalising playing rosters, NRL teams across the country are also using the off-season for a very different recruitment drive.
A club’s cheerleading squad can almost be as important as the players come game day because, let’s face it, when your team is down by six tries those beauties of the sideline, those princesses of the pompoms, are about the only thing worth watching.
This week the Express Advocate caught up with four Central Coast stunners who are returning for another season with the Newcastle Knights.
Pocket rocket Rhiannon Donaldson, 20, and the voluptuous Renee Jackson, 21, both of Umina Beach, along with the leggy India Jacobs, 19, of Matcham and the megawatt smile of Sharna Scott, 19, of Saratoga, will be whipping Knights fans into a frenzy in 2019.
Their Central Coast born-and-raised coach Alex Tsambos, who spent nine years cheerleading at Manly before a further three years at the Knights before her retirement, said a lot of young women did not realise how easy it was to commute to different clubs to participate.
“We train at Edgeworth, so it’s right at the end of the freeway, it’s 60 minutes from the Coast,” she said.
“A lot of girls don’t realise it’s available for them.”
The Knights cheer squad is holding an open tryout on Monday, December 10, at McDonald Jones Stadium from 6pm and is encouraging more aspiring Coasties to have a go.
Ms Tsambos said there was a real camaraderie among the team of 24 cheerleaders in the final squad with 16 women rostered each game day.
The four Coast incumbents said they all started off with dance backgrounds and juggled cheerleading with tertiary studies, full-time jobs and traineeships.
“I’ve always loved dancing and it just seemed like and awesome opportunity,” Ms Scott said.
Her teammate Ms Donaldson said: “the best thing about cheerleading is making new friends and being able to perform in front of 25,000 people”.
Ms Jackson said her best advice for any aspiring cheerleaders was to “be yourself” and back themselves while Ms Jacobs said they did work hard throughout the season.
“We all work really hard, it’s really intense but it’s worth it when we perform on the field,” she said.
A copy of the audition information sheet can be found here.
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