Tweed Seagulls receive $2.4m facility revamp to transform women’s rugby league

Multi-million dollar expansion plans at one of Gold Coast’s proudest rugby league clubs will help usher in a new era of women’s rugby league. Find out how here >>

Multi-million dollar expansion plans at one of Gold Coast’s proudest rugby league clubs will help usher in a new era of women’s rugby league.

That was the declaration of Tweed Seagulls CEO Matt Francis who revealed a junior girls academy would soon follow after the announcement of more than $2.4 million in NSW Government funding to upgrade the club’s facilities.

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Member for Tweed Geoff Provest announced on Thursday the forthcoming project that will increase the grounds to three international-standard fields, while providing upgrades to the lighting and a community playground.

Francis said Piggabeen had never been able to host a night-time spectacle, and now the lighting development and field expansions would open up avenues for more fixtures and hosting rights to a wide range of carnivals and showcases.

But he said the scope to strengthen the club’s female pathways by providing access to elite facilities would not only harness the Southeast Queensland and Northern Rivers talent pool but help stave off poaching raids from rival outfits.

pre-season trial game between the Burleigh Bears and Tweed Seagulls at Piggabeen Oval. under-19s girls Burleigh Player No Tweed Player No Pic Mike Batterham

“This year we’ll be having some development camps with a view to establish the girls Academy so young females from 15 and up are starting to get the proper introduction to the game,” Francis said.

“It’s in the works, our first focus was making sure that we had a competitive spot for the under-19s and that’s been a challenge.

“Some of our girls were recruited by the Roosters and the Bulldogs from the under 19s squad last year, which shows that other areas of the game aren’t developing female talent in their own backyard.

“We’re working very closely with the Northern Rivers regional rugby league. There hasn’t been much contact for female rugby league in northern NSW, but last weekend we had a squad of 30 training for the under-19s team and at least a third are from northern NSW.

“There’s a reservoir of talent, and we can assist them to aspire to play at the highest level, but it’s also a community club developing female rugby league. It’s building the quality facilities where we can become a regional centre of excellence.

“Without our community clubs we don’t exist, and at the end of the day the NRL doesn’t exist.”

Francis said preliminary works on the expansion project would “start soon”, with the first sod of soil to be turned towards the end of the Queensland Cup finals series.

In addition, Francis confirmed the Seagulls had been locked in to a new five-year license with the Queensland Rugby League that would enable the club to “work towards the future with certainty”.

Tweed Seagulls expansion plan. Picture: Supplied

Tweed Seagulls expansion plan. Picture: Supplied

However he admitted the longevity of the Queensland Cup remained shrouded amid discussions of an NRL reserve grade competition being introduced to largely replace the statewide format as the game’s second tier outlet.

Francis implored rugby league powerbrokers to abandon thoughts of the concept and ensure the sustainability of community rugby league — “the supply chain” — remained in tact.

He said such a move would diminish community and regional football and deprive the game of the next Cody Walker’s, Jamal Fogarty’s and Nicho Hynes’ who all rose to prominence through regional clubs later in their careers.

“They talk about the clubs developing, but they will churn players very quickly if they don’t meet their standards,” Francis said.

“Some players need the opportunity to mature and develop, and in particular the QRL has always been the envy of NSW rugby league because they have a state-wide footprint.

“If they have a reserve grade the (Central Coast) Capras, Northern Pride, clubs of that nature, what happens to those regional kids?”

Originally published as Tweed Seagulls receive $2.4m facility revamp to transform women’s rugby league