‘Still need a lot more’: What’s next for Gold Coast women’s rugby after historic season?
Meet the two women who stole the show in a history making side, while their coach breaks down the 2023 plans for the women's code. READ THE PLANS HERE >>
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In the aftermath of a historic season for his beloved club, Gold Coast Eagles women’s coach Beau Milner has declared a 15-a-side outfit is firmly on their radar for 2023.
And he has called on the rest of the region to follow suit, as they seek to take the code to new heights or risk losing talent to their Brisbane counterparts.
After 16 years without fielding a female side, the Eagles hustled together enough troops to take on the senior and under-15s Gold Coast District Rugby Union 7s competitions.
Spearheaded by the likes of gun forward Margy Tisesa and halfback Dominika Baleinagasau, the rookie outfit rose to the top of the podium on Friday night, defeating the Helensvale Hogs 12-5 to lift the premiership trophy.
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On the back of this success, Milner said the club hoped to field teams in under-13s and under-17s divisions in rugby union’s shortest format, however the ultimate goal was on piecing together a unit for the code’s traditional format.
While he said their hope was that their fellow Gold Coast-based clubs would join their crusade in building a local women’s format, should that not eventuate they would seek to follow the lead of the Coomera Crushers in the Queensland Suburban Rugby Union.
"Absolutely, our goal is 15-a-side, we would really like that. We have under-15s this year and women, so we’d really lie to extend that to a potential 13s and 17s, but the driving force is also a 15 a side women’s," Milner said.
“Ideally we would like to have it here at the Gold Coast, but we will see. I think that’s the whole idea, if we get enough teams here we can invite Brisbane potentially or maybe come down towards us or us to there.
“It’s really just trying to five the girls an opportunity to be able play rugby. I’m a big believer in success isn’t winning premierships, my success will be the retention of the girls for next year.“Our goal was not to win but just to make that a reality for the girls to play rugby.”
At the end of a tough period for grassroots rugby union since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, signs of growth in the female space have been ever present throughout 2022.
New competitions have been earmarked in the 7s format after the GCDRU gained extended field usage across the region, while the Crushers emerged victorious from the QSRU and the Beenleigh-based Celtics fielded their first ever women’s side.
As for the Eagles, their quest from the nearly two decades in the wilderness of the code to the toast of the competition began with two determined young girls eager to pick up the Gilbert.
Milner’s daughter Kyrah and her friend Claire White both voiced their desire to take to the field, and from their the under-15s outfit in the yellow and blue jersey blossomed.
Women’s captain Risha Iosia-Sipeli, Milner’s wife Kahli, Eagles president Jason Terren and junior co-ordinator Grant Steffek then set about berthing the senior brigade, a feat which required extensive recruiting and subsidising playing fees for the campaign. From the hopes of those two girls, 28 Eagles would don the club colours across the two age groups.
Milner said he and the club would continue to put the word out in a bid to recruit more athletes to their ranks, and called on their forthcoming rival squads to do the same.
“We got together through the vision of the two girls, we got together with the president and junior co-ordinator and they were fully on board and did as much as they possibly could to help us get there,” he said.
“The girls did a lot of recruiting through schools and social media, and a few contacts of Kahli got the women together as well.
“We’ll still need a lot more recruiting, but it has potential if we can supply a product and go from there and get women interested and then give them the product. Hopefully we can get the QRU to go ahead with this 15s side and we can start recruiting from there.”
STARS OF THE SHOW
Margy Tisesa — Forward
“She’s quite physical, and just brought out such dominance I would say to her defence and attack,” Milner said of the woman praised by their Hogs rivals as the player of the final.
“I think it was from start to finish pretty much, probably in our first half our defensive effort really helped when they had about 85 per cent of the ball in the first half.
“It changed waves where we got a bit more ball, there were no really key moments it was just from the start to finish pretty intense.”
Dominika Baleinagasau — Halfback
While Tisea was praised by Helensvale as the player of the final, Milner reserved special acknowledgement for halfback Dominika Baleinagasau for the manner in which she carried herself throughout the campaign.
He said it was not just what she could do herself on the field, but the way she had been a catalyst for others around her to lift.
“She’s just been a standard throughout the whole season with her confidence,” Milner said.
“Everyone is confident around her, she brings a lot of leadership qualities as well and is quite a standout herself in attack and defence.
“It’s just her ability to break a tackle and to defend really anyone, she shows some real true potential.”
REVEALED: HUGE WIN SIGNALS NEW ERA FOR GOLD COAST WOMEN'S RUGBY
- July 12
A new era is firmly on the horizon for women’s rugby on the Gold Coast, with council approving field extension to provide year-round 7s competitions.
Now the time has come for the next generation of Olympians to stake their claim in the code.
Previous to this coup for the Gold Coast District Rugby Union, the women’s rugby 7s season only ran throughout winter — a 14-week campaign on Friday nights.
However with wet weather plaguing several seasons in other sports, some stretching beyond there initial end date, field availability was hindered for further outlets to come to the fore.
But now, with approval granted to use fields throughout school terms three and four, Brooklyn Manu said a fresh wave of prospects could come through their doors without being forced to choose between other sports.
The GCDRU community development manager said that while dates had not been locked in yet, several Sunday tournaments — set to feature invitational teams rather than just existing clubs — would be arranged outside of the season of rugby union’s rival winter codes such as rugby league and football.
She said between the travel obstacles from the M1 development and current Friday night timeslot throughout winter the region risked losing a plethora of talent to other codes.
Now they had the chance to inspire the next crop of Olympians throughout the year.
“Unless we can compete and have something that’s fun and engaging our whole region of girls will get lost to league or other sports. We don’t want them to have to choose, we don’t want the girls to choose one sport,” Manu said.
“We’re 10 years out from the biggest tournament ever to be held up the road. (Without this) I think we would’ve just got stale, the people are going to keep coming here, the dramas with travel on the M1 are only going to get worse.
“Having a Friday night comp in a cold winter with travel restrictions basically … I think we would’ve really lost a lot of good girls and good families that want to have this experience as well.
“This is new for the region, there’s always been plans and proposals for a different women’s and girl’s structure, but the last few years have just been so broken because of Covid and because of horrendous weather conditions and field closures.
“Nothing has ever really got that traction, but coming off a pretty decent season now everyone is excited about rugby … all we need to do is get that visibility.”
Schools and clubs will be invited to put together teams, however they will not be restricted to just those on the Gold Coast.
The new competitions recently set up in the West 7s format will open a path for the likes of Mt Tambourine and Beaudesert to take on opposition previously foreign to them, presenting further chances to grow and develop as young athletes.
The news comes after under-15 guns Brianna Toopi, Skylah Samson, Saraya Smith, Te Rina Pearce and Lourdes Vainikola were all selected in the Queensland Country side, a quintet who have highlighted the direction and talent of the game in the region.
Manu said rugby union’s governing bodies as a whole had been plotting ways to exposure more youngsters to greater competition, and the field extensions approval would at last be able to put those ideas into practice.
“Basically last year Queensland Rugby put together a women’s network and came up with a strategy on how to improve women’s rugby,” she said.
“They got together 50 women from all over Queensland to put this together. I was lucky enough to be one of them, and it means it’s serious.
“If it has the growth now it will be up there with the men’s game in no time at all. The fact they’re investing into rugby shows it was time for a change and it’s great the Gold Coast council is going to change with us.
“It’s going to coincide amazingly with all schools 7s and the beach rugby season and all the other 7s competitions that are happening. We’re now going to have our own opportunity to showcase our girls and talent on the Gold Coast.”
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