Gold Coast Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt says Labor’s pledge puts them closer to NRLW
The Gold Coast Titans have secured an election promise that would catapult them closer to fielding an NRLW side.
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THE Gold Coast Titans have secured an election promise that would catapult them closer to fielding an NRLW side.
Labor senator Murray Watt announced at the club’s Parkwood headquarters on Thursday that if Bill Shorten is elected as Prime Minister this weekend, his party will commit $500,000 towards women’s and disability opportunities at the Titans.
A bus with wheelchair access, valued at $100,000, has been pledged for the club’s physical disability team, allowing players to be collected from around the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers to participate in training and games.
A further $400,000 would go towards upgrading the Titans high performance centre, revolving around better utilising the spacious gym and its high ceilings.
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Titans executive chairman Dennis Watt pointed to the nine-a-side high school Karyn Murphy Cup as proof of the increasing league interest among girls and women on the Gold Coast.
“Girls are really wanting to play footy and they are feeling empowered and we want to facilitate that,” he said.
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“This work we’re doing there will just move us a few steps further along in terms of putting in a submission for a Gold Coast Titans women’s team in the national competition.
“We’ll do that as soon as we are practically and financially able to do so.”
Only Brisbane, Sydney, St George Illawarra and New Zealand currently have NRLW sides.
The proposed upgrade works, he added, would be designed to offer better coaching services to female teams and players.
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“We’re actually going to build a mezzanine floor (in the gym). There’s a high altitude room – we’re going to empty that out, put it on the mezzanine floor, and then use that space for media training and coach education, so it expands our capabilities,” he said.
Senator Watt praised Gold Coast’s efforts to be inclusive for women’s and disability sport.
“It’s a really community-minded club, they are always looking for opportunities to partner with the community and reach into parts of the community that maybe don’t get as much of a go as others,” he said.
“So that’s something that fitted very nicely with Labor values of giving everyone a go and that’s why we were keen to back them in.”
The Burleigh Bears have won the past four South East Queensland women’s division one premierships, while Tweed Seagulls have also joined the top tier competition this season.
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