Players to watch in the 2023 western league tag competition

It sets up the prospect of some blockbuster match-ups as some of the most talented female players in bush footy go head-to-head.

Making the competition all that more enticing is a number of major off-season transfers while some exciting juniors are also stepping up to the senior grade.

Your ACM reporters from around the region have cast their eye over the clubs and come up with these 10 moves which could have a big say on the 2023 title race.

Huge. Maybe the biggest intra-Group 11 signing of the entire off-season across any grade.

The rivalry between Parkes and Forbes has always been fierce but a new element will added to the league tag side of things after Draper made the shock move to the Magpies.

A current Western Rams star, Draper is simply one of the best players in the competition and has shone for the Spacecats for a number of years.

She had been rumoured to be making the move to one of the Dubbo clubs during the off-season, only to stay at Parkes and star at the annual league Western League Tag Challenge pre-season tournament.

But then the surprise move to Forbes came about and it's a huge deal for the Magpies.

The squad has never been able to quite make the leap from the edge of the finals to the top of the ladder but Draper gives them a shot of doing that.

Rather than going after just one of the Prestwidge triplets, Orange CYMS has secured the signings of all three for the upcoming league tag season.

What makes these acquisitions that much better for the green and golds is not only will it bolster their own side, it takes away a huge threat from the cross-town rival Hawks, for whom the Prestwidges once called home.

CYMS coach Adam Gibson doesn't yet have a clear idea of where the trio will play on the field, but knows they'll be able to adapt to whatever role they find themselves in.

You won't get to see them together on the pitch for a few weeks however. Bec is currently committed to the Sydney Roosters Tarsha Gale side, while Caitlin and Hailey are busy with the Australian touch football side.

But it shouldn't be long before they're back and firing on all cylinders for their new club.

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Dubbo CYMS has been the top dog in Group 11 for the past decade and will start the season as one of the big favourites for the first western crown.

There's new levels of competition but in Rikka Lamb they've got a player who can help keep them at the top.

A former star in the green and white, Lamb has spent the last few years playing at an elite level with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Lamb played in the Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership, playing across the backline while also showing her leadership qualities as captain.

Having already enjoyed premiership success with the Fishies in the past, Lamb will provide class and experience for a team aiming to become the first champion in a new western-wide competition.

The only question will be how quickly she can get back into the swing of league tag after so much time in the tackle format.

She's only played one season of league tag, but that's all we need to know that Menzi White will be a massive asset to Bathurst Panthers.

A natural sporting talent who has impressed in the Western Women's Rugby League competition for the Panorama Platypi and carved up on the soccer field for Abercrombie, White decided to give league tag a crack in 2022.

She signed up for Woodbridge Cup outfit Oberon.

What followed was a rookie season that saw her not only named Oberon's league tag best and fairest, but the Tigers' overall club best and fairest, rookie of the year and highest point scorer.

With her brothers Hudson and McCoy already playing for Panthers, White has now been lured across too.

White is versatile enough to fill any role with Panthers, but she'd probably be most lethal if deployed at fullback.

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Her name might jump off the page as much as some others but this is definitely one to watch.

Masman has been a dominant force in the Castlereagh League for a number of years, helping the Baradine Magpies create something of a dynasty in that competition.

She was player of the grand final during the 2022 premiership victory and also has plenty of representative experience with the Western Rams.

The thought of adding the attacking spark Masman creates to an already elite CYMS team should be enough to strike fear into other sides around the west.

Not necessarily new given she joined Macquarie ahead of the 2022 season, but the arrival of a baby meant Tiff Stanley didn't play a competitive match last year.

This year she may just prove to be the missing ingredient for the Raidettes.

While Dubbo CYMS has been dominating the Group 11 league tag scene for much of the past decade, the Raidettes have focused on building from their junior base.

There have been great strides made in recent seasons but the feeling has always been they missed someone who could provide that bit of magic and break a game open.

Enter Stanley.

An electric attacking talent, Stanley was fantastic to watch during her time with CYMS in 2021 and has the ability to pop up all over the park and make something happen.

Down to play at halfback for Macquarie, look for most of the side's attack to revolve around her.

READ MORE: Going on a Bear hunt: Oborn's excited to help a league tag comeback

It's like adding a massive incendiary bomb to an already lethal arsenal - that's how big Sophie Stammers' move to St Pat's is.

St Pat's is the side which goes into the new Western premiership as one of the favourites given it has won the past four Group 10 titles and only lost once in its last 62 games in that competition.

The Saints already had a squad packed full of experienced and talented playmakers like captain Mish Somers and Bronte Emanuel, but now with Stammers in the mix too, well it's imposing.

Stammers joins the Saints after spending last season in the halves for Orange CYMS - the side which fell to the blue and whites on grand final day.

Before that Stammers played more than 100 games for Blayney, won a premiership with the Bears in 2016, picked up a Group 10 player of the year award and lined up in representative matches.

She's not only a noted try scorer herself, but her list of assists is huge as well.

It will be interesting to see where she slots in and how she will gel with her new team-mates, but one thing is for certain, Stammers is a definite threat.

The flyer might not have much league tag experience, but CYMS coach Adam Gibson is certain her speed on the park will more than make up for that.

A touch football player by trade, Moore brings with her such honours as State of Origin representative and more recently, lining up with the Southern Stars.

"She's played a lot of touch footy and she'll bring a bit more maturity into our side," Gibson said of his new recruit.

"She knows a lot of the girls through playing high level touch and we're really excited to have her."

Moore will likely line up in the middle of the field to start the season.

Every now and then a young player comes along who you put an asterisk next to as one to watch.

MacGregor is firmly in that category.

Potentially the most exciting teenage player in the western area, MacGregor will likely take on a key role immediately at the Spacecats after graduating from the Parkes Marist junior system.

Someone Parkes coach Michael Dumesny thinks could be the most talented player he's worked with, MacGregor was a star during the most recent Western Women's Rugby League season and is set to take over the Spacecats' fullback jersey from the now departed India Draper.

Experience counts - it's a sporting cliché but when it comes to the Blayney Bears and Lilly Porch this season it's one that is fitting.

After being unable to field a side in the 2022 Group 10 league tag competition, the Bears have pulled together enough numbers to make a comeback this season.

It is going to be a very young and relatively inexperienced side. That's why Porch shapes as a player to watch.

Porch has previously played Group 10 finals tag with Orange CYMS and she's also got tackle representative experience - she lined up alongside some of the region's finest in Central Storm colours in 2018.

Though she's best known as a netballer, her natural athleticism should serve the Bears well.

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