Complementing the NSWRL Blues Tag Southern Representative Gala Day in Boorowa last Sunday (8 October) was an Under-16s exhibition match between Group 20 and Group 16.
Group 16 led 6-0 with Isla Miller scoring early in the contest, but doubles to Karly Fisher and Taylah Axtill saw Group 20 fight back to land a 20-6 victory.
There were plenty of laughs shared between the sides and some great talent on show.
Group 20 coach Chloe Deacon was happy to see two sides from very different areas in the state playing each other and enjoying the limelight.
"It was great, and props to Group 16 for bringing their team out," Deacon said.
"It's good to meet and play against a different bunch of girls and not just come up against teams we normally would play against."
The Group 20 side represented Griffith, Narrandera, Leeton, and other small Riverina communities on the day.
"It was a really good game and I was impressed with how the girls went," Deacon said.
"The girls have been travelling for the past eight weeks and training every Monday and Wednesday, and they worked hard together and played well together."
NSWRL will look to build on the Under-16s component to their Southern Representative Gala Day in 2024, and Deacon said it was important for young players to have defined Representative pathways.
"I would love to see this get bigger and bigger and become a regular thing for the Under-16s," Deacon said.
"I just want to get more girls involved. There are so many females involved in Rugby league, and this is good for the Under-16s, but we want to see players progressing from Under-6s right through to Opens.
"These types of days are pathways for those girls to play some representative League Tag.
"Plus, a lot of these girls will step up to Opens next year, and some of them already play Opens. It will be sad to see them move up, but they are our future, and it's good to see them continuing on in the sport."
It was a big day of action at Boorowa, just east of Young.
In the Opens Blues Tag Representative competition, Monaro was crowned champions with the Colts defeating Riverina 32-6 and Western 24-6, while drawing 10-all with Illawarra-South Coast to finish top of the standings.
