Tara Reinke honoured to be leading the way as one of the inaugural Western Clydesdales captains

Western Clydesdales star Tara Reinke’s meteoric rise from local footy to NRLW has been nothing short of amazing. Now co-captain of the inaugural Clydesdales BMD side, the former Gatton Hawks rook still remains as humble as ever.

Tara Reinke leads the Western Clydesdales BMD Premiership side out for their clash against the Brisbane Tigers. Picture: Benny Hassum Photography.

Only a few years ago Tara Reinke stepped onto a rugby league field for the first time with the Gatton Hawks in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition.

In the space of two short years, she rose through the BMD Premiership and broke onto the scene with the Canberra Raiders NRLW side in last year’s competition.

Despite the Western Clydesdales star’s meteoric rise, Reinke remains as humble as ever.

“I really do pinch myself going from local to BMD, then straight to NRL and now a co-captain of BMD,” she said.

“My rise has been really dramatically quick and I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had.

“I don’t think of myself as an inspiration, but I hope that the girls from this local area can see that you can build your way into the pathways and eventually play NRL.”

The hard-running forward has been key to the success of the Clydesdales this season and was honoured to lead the way as one of the inaugural co-captains.

“It is so special, when I first started playing footy I never would have thought we’d have a BMD side out here and I’d be co-captain with Shenae (Ciesiolka),” Reinke said.

“It is really special and I am grateful for that opportunity.”

With Ciesiolka out injured early in the season, Reinke took the lead as sole captain for the first two games, captaining the side in their inaugural game against the CQ Capras, a historic moment for the club.

Tara Reinke for the Western Clydesdales against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in round 3 of the BMD Premiership. Picture: Benny Hassum Photography.

“I think I had goosebumps for the whole game even after running out,” she said.

“Just the cheer from the crowd, we had a huge crowd here and just getting to lead out a great bunch of girls, it was so good.”

Building the pathways has been of major emphasis within the Clydesdales in their first season, with plenty of work done to build the partnerships between the BMD Premiership side and the Harvey Norman under-17s and under-19s.

“It is really good, we actually train with a few of the under-19 and under-17 girls sometimes,” Reinke said.

“So it is really good seeing that pathway that they can build into the NRL.

“(It has been) really good, I think they are really trying to push for the spots in the coming years so they want to work hard and push into the spots here in the BMD.”