Lachlan District to debut in 2023 Western Women's Rugby League

It got to the point where they just had to bite the bullet and do it, and the Lachlan District was born.

Designed to cater for girls and women from Forbes, Parkes, Condobolin, West Wyalong and everywhere in between, Lachlan District is gearing up for its maiden Western Women's Rugby League (WWRL) campaign.

Well known in Group 11 and Western Rams circles, Harpur, Hocking and Butler are based at Forbes and had links with the Wiradjuri Goannas previously.

Players from Forbes and Parkes had previously had to play for the nearby Goannas or Woodbridge, but the organising trio could see there were still young girls in their region missing out on the chance to play.

"We've been toying with the idea for about the last three, maybe four years purely based on the fact that there's growing numbers within the junior ranks, especially girls, and there's no sort of definitive pathway for them in our area other than having to go to Dubbo or to Woodbridge, which is Grenfell and further," Lachlan District chairperson Harpur said.

"There's been a gap in our area for quite a while."

The WWRL features under 12s, 14s, 16s, 18s and open-age divisions and seven clubs will take part in the 2023 season, which kicks off on Saturday, September 23.

The competition has already opened doors for a host of western area players.

Taneka Todhunter, a former Goannas player, represented the Parramatta Eels in the NRLW this season and was this week selected in the Prime Minister's XIII for the game against Papua New Guinea, while a number of younger players are following in her footsteps after earning Tarsha Gale Cup selection.

Forbes rising stars Georgia Coote, Kirby Maslin and Georgie Cole are among that younger brigade, with the former playing for South Sydney last season while the latter pair represented the Penrith Panthers.

All three played for the Goannas previously but will return home as ones to watch for Lachlan District in its debut season, as will Parkes league tag and former Woodbridge star Elizabeth MacGregor.

Harpur is confident the introduction of Lachlan District won't have a negative impact on the Goannas and Woodbridge numbers.

Last season both clubs were forced to turn players away in certain age groups such was the interest, and Lachlan is keen to ensure no players are forced to watch from the sidelines.

Lachlan District's numbers across all age groups so far are strong, but more are needed for the under 18s.

As pleasing as it is to cater for the younger players, the Lachlan District's open-age side which feature a number of mothers of junior players and that's just as exciting for the organisers.

"I think it's more fun for them than it is for anyone else," Harpur said.

"They're really keen to do it. A lot of them have got kids that will play in the junior groups.

"There was a few mothers at our recent season launch and that was an absolute success.

"I think it was 102 people who turned up for that, which was actually really, really good for us."

Troy Gosper will coach the Lachlan District under 18s and opens side while Deanne and Craig Hanson will lead the under 16s, Adam Maynard has taken on the under 14s and Matt Bull will coach the under 12s.

Lachlan District will have the bye in round one before taking on Woodbridge at Canowindra in round two on Sunday, October 8.

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