From KO team to elite pathway: How Central West Maliyan is changing the game for girls

What started as a Koori Knockout team has evolved into a pathway for girls in western NSW to chase their rugby league dreams. Here’s how Central West Maliyan is changing the game.

Isabelle Fitzpatrick will be part of the Wests Tigers program in 2025. Picture Warren Gannon Photography

There’s a host of promising female rugby league talent in the central west, but a lack of exposure has long meant they’ve gone undiscovered.

One group is hoping to change that and despite being around for a touch over a year, they’re already seeing great results.

The Central West Maliyan side has evolved from a footy team at the Koori Knockout into an elite female pathway for aspiring young girls to chase their football dreams.

Kira-Lea Dargin knows what it takes to succeed at a high level having played gridiron in America, and wants to provide those same opportunities for girls in the region.

“I came from a footy background and got to play overseas,” she said.

“One of the big factors (for starting CWM) was there wasn’t a lot of education around the younger girls around using the gym, understanding the autonomy of the female body.

Freya Hodges of Central West Maliyan. Picture Warren Gannon Photography

“We’ve tried to educate the girls on that as well as increase their tactical and technical skills to open some more opportunities.

“We started originally as a Knockout team last year and then we had non-Indigenous girls how they could get involved.

“We extended it into a program to bring the girls together once a month in Bathurst.

“CSU (Charles Sturt University) jumped in and helped us with gym facilities and we got access to a field.”

The catchment of players originally started in the central west of Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo and Condobolin, but has since caught on to gather interest from girls in Nyngan, Bourke, Coonamble, Young and Wagga.

CWM sent two teams to the recent Koori Knockout in Bathurst, with their U15s girls making the grand final.

The positive news has continued, with a host of players from the U15s and U17s squads either in squads or invited to train for Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale spots next season after impressing at the Knockout.

Dargin said it’s a proud moment for the program to be able to help the aspiring athletes get noticed by pathways clubs.

“I’m super proud of them. There’s no feeling like it,” she said.

“All I wanted to do was provide an opportunity (for them) because there was nobody else doing it.

“Girls weren’t being shared information on how to get into the metro comp or how to get a look in.

“I wanted to be that bridge of information and expose the girls to where they need to go and what level they need to be at.”