FOR the first time in its history, Dora Creek Rugby League Club will field a women's team in the region's 13-a-side tackle competition in 2020.
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Coach Troy Agar said he expected the Swampies to immediately challenge the established teams in the Newcastle and Hunter Community Rugby League's women's competition.
"With the quality of the girls we have, I've got very high expectations," Agar said.
"Our men's team won the A-Grade comp last season, so it would be awesome to have both the men's and women's team up there next season."
Dora Creek previously contested the Ladies League Tag competition.
But the club's board recently voted to withdraw from the Ladies League Tag from next season and instead enter a team in the women's rugby league premiership.
Agar said the move would help the club to retain its juniors.
Girls who played rugby league for Dora Creek up to under-18 level would often leave to join clubs that offered senior rugby league for women.
The decision to field a team in the women's senior competition had also seen a wave of former Dora Creek juniors return to the Swampies, he said.
And it's the calibre of those players, in particular, that has Agar excited about the team's potential to have an immediate impact.
Among the players returning to the club in 2020 are Cody Campbell, a prop with the Newcastle Knights Tarsha Gale Cup (under 18s) team; Bree O'Neill, a hooker with the Newcastle Knights; and the Knights' second-row pairing of Zoe Coyne and Georgia Bragg.
Other former Dora Creek players were also returning from the Central Coast Roosters, Cronulla, Berkeley Vale and Waratah-Mayfield, Agar said.
The club already has 26 women on its list, and the competition doesn't kick off until April next year.
"Women's rugby league has just taken off in the last few years," Agar said.
"It's good to be able to offer the Dora Creek girls a pathway now. We can bring the girls through and they can stay with their junior club," he said.
The coach said he planned to get the squad together for a couple of runs before Christmas, with official training to start in January.
- For more information, or to inquire about playing rugby league with the Dora Creek women's team, phone Mr Agar on 0448 899 640.
