The Canberra Raiders have continued their commitment to the growth of women’s rugby league in the local region, with the addition of an under 15s development squad.
This follows on from the success of the creation of the club’s under 17s female pathway program late last year.
Registrations are now open for the Under 15s female development squad trial, which will take place on Sunday March 17 at NSWRL HQ, Bruce.
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Raiders NRLW coach Darrin Borthwick is excited at the prospect of adding another age group to the female pathway at the Raiders.
“After establishing our Under 17s elite squad, we felt that we needed the same in our 15s space. That’s another part of our pathway that we felt we were missing and we are very keen and eager to see that squad come together,” Borthwick said.
“It will be the same process, they’ll come and trial and we’ll pick a squad of 30-35 girls and we’ll bring them in for a 6-8 week academy.
“I think it’s important for our local and regional girls that we are concentrating on those pathways and we are giving them a leg up into our NRLW elite team, giving them something that they’ve probably never had before.
“For a long time we just had our Tarsha Gale Cup team which has been great for us but now we have our NRLW team. To be able to have 15s and 17s squads, by the time they get to Tarsha Gale Cup they’ll be a lot more equipped and hopefully a bit more advanced in their skillset and what it takes to be a Raiders NRLW player.”
Borthwick said he was pleased with the recent Under 17s squad academy and looks forward to the next age group coming into the pathway.
“It was great. A lot of the feedback we had from the girls was they enjoyed it so much and they could see that the club was putting in an effort there to make sure they have something.
“We’re very dedicated and committed to bringing these girls through so that they have every chance to play at the top level in this area.”
