A handful of players have already been signed and more are set to join them as NRLW coaches hailed the standard of the Harvey Norman Rising Talent Invitational in Newcastle.
The three-day event, staged in the lead up to the inaugural NRLW Magic Round, involved 60 players from pathway programs around Australia, including Combined Affiliated States and First Nations Gems, as well as Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
There were also cross code athletes and players previously in NRLW systems but who had dropped out due to injuries or other reasons, including childbirth, and are now seeking a second chance.
“This was an opportunity to bring players from those pathways together and not only test them on the field but also provide an opportunity for them to experience different people, different coaches and different cultures,” NRL Pathways Program Manager Mike Castle said.
“We were really pleased with the level of the players, their whole commitment and attitude. Their approach to everything they were asked to do was outstanding.
“They had to learn new game plans, meet new players and build new combinations in a really short time frame. Despite the weather the quality of football was outstanding.”
With many NRLW squads hit hard by injuries, the timing of the Invitational was ideal and representatives of clubs were on hand to watch the players undergo position specific testing and play a series of games.
“I think people will make business choices out of it and there will probably be players recruited,” Wests Tigers coach Brett Kimmorley said.
“We’ve got four replacements that we are able to fill and at the moment we have done one so we will just keep going through the process.
US Olympic rugby sevens medallist Kayla Canett was among the cross-code athletes at the Harvey Norman Rising Talent Invitational.
©Chloe Davis/NRL Photos
“Obviously we watch a lot of Harvey Norman (NSW), we watch BMD (Queensland) and the U19s comps so you have a fair idea of who is around and who is available, except players from different states or codes.
“It was a good opportunity to come and watch a few and see how they go. It’s a credit to the NRL for putting it together and trying to help grow the talent pool. They are going to send videos so you get more footage to watch.”
The Titans and Sharks are among other clubs looking for injury replacements.
“I think a few players have already been signed, which is great,” Sharks coach Tony Herman said.
We looked at a couple of players and there was already word that one or two of them had already been signed.
“It helps the international game too, with some young Fijian girls there and the girls from Papua New Guinea. It was great seeing them in that environment and getting that experience.
“Some of those girls wouldn’t have been involved in that sort of high-performance set-up before and they get better and better the more they play, so I really liked it.”
Fiji’s Vasemaca Duva impressed at the inaugural Harvey Norman Rising Talent Invitational.
©Chloe Davis/NRL Photos
NSW U19s coach Courtney Crawford, her Queensland counterpart Maia Tua-Davidson, First Nations Gems Indigenous Pathways coach Nicole Fleming and Queensland Pathways mentor Amy Bock were each assigned a team to prepare.
Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner, who is NRL pathways strategy manager, and her coaching staff oversaw the event, while coaches from Fiji and Papua New Guinea – including the legendary Stanley Gene – were also involved.
The players were split into squads of 15 and the coaches presented to them on the style of play they wanted before each team was allocated two hours to train.
The four teams then played each other in three 25 minutes games.
Victorian playmaker Rebecca Nelio shares a joke with team-mates while preparing to play at the Harvey Norman Rising Star Invitational.
©Chloe Davis/NRL Photos
Dragons female football manager Sam Bremner, Eels assistant coach Kate Mullally, Knights coach Ben Jeffries and Broncos superstar Tamika Upton provided advice about the attributes they look for when signing a player.
“It was unreal, what a cool concept and what a great opportunity to be a part of something like this,” Bremner said.
“When I first started playing rugby league I would have jumped at anything like this if there was any opportunity at all.”
Mullally said: “There is a lot of talented footballers here and I was really impressed by the structures they played with. They came together in a really short period of time and picked that up, so that is a shout out to the coaches as well”.