Newcastle’s female pathways firing on all cylinders in hunt for NSWRL Junior Reps grand final spots

Across both NSWRL female pathways divisions the Knights have lost just one of their last 13 outings, and now they’re daring to dream of punching their grand final ticket in two divisions.

Captain Emily McArthur has led the Knights to a preliminary final appearance in the Lisa Fiaola Cup. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography

In a season where clubs are running hot in the NSWRL’s female pathways competitions, Newcastle is putting its hand up to be in the conversation for hottest.

In Tarsha Gale Cup they’ve tasted defeat just once in their last seven outings, while their Lisa Fiaola girls ride high on a six-game win streak.

The turnaround for the U17s girls in particular has been an astonishing one, as they secured their finals spot in the very last round of the competition and now find themselves in a preliminary final.

“The start of the season was a little bit ‘how you going’, but we’ve just clicked together,” captain Emily McArthur said.

“We sorted ourselves out. Come into the finals it’s really showed and we were so happy.

“We’re training really well, we’re going at it and working on what we can control, and that’s shown in our results.

“We’ve got used to playing with each other. It was fresh at the start but we’ve clicked and gelled really well.”

Newcastle was forced to dig deep against Parramatta in their elimination final, twice pulling out incredible tackles that directly prevented tries, the type of effort McArthur said her team is about.

“I was so proud of that,” she said.

“It was body on the line and that’s what we want from our girls. Showing up, putting our bodies on the line and representing the Knights jersey with pride.

Lilly-Ann White had a blinder of a game against Manly. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography

“Coming into the game we were very nervous. It was so scary being our first proper rep season.

“We’re so excited for our next game and really wanting to work together to show what we can do.”

Both Knights sides will come up against the might of Canterbury at Leichhardt Oval this weekend in the hopes of booking their spot in the grand finals.

Tarsha Gale captain and fullback Lilly-Ann White said her group will give it their best shot as they look to cause a boilover.

“We need to train well, give it 100 per cent there and give it a crack,” White said.

“It’s surreal being with a bunch of girls where everyone wants to be there and be a part of footy.”

The two sides met back in round two with Canterbury prevailing in both divisions (38-16 Lisa Fiaola Cup, 12-6 Tarsha Gale Cup).