By Tallon Smith

Group 9 has made one of the biggest and boldest decisions in Riverina rugby league in many years, opting to change the senior match day program to add two new grades for the growing female game from next season.

The move, which is the first change to the competition’s grades since the inauguration of League Tag in 2008, will see the introduction of Under 18s Girls Tackle and the permanent implementation of a Women’s Tackle competition, while the Under 16s will drop back to the juniors, a move which aligns the men’s lower grades with every other Group in the state.

Group 9 President Mark Daly said that the six grade match day will run roughly to the same schedule of the 2024 season with the addition Women’s Tackle trial competition this year, with the new Under 18’s Girls competition basically a straight swap for 16’s Boys. 

“The Under 16’s [Boys] are going back to the juniors next year, so we’re looking to have Under 18s Girls Tackle at 9:30am,” he said.

“Then we go Under 18s Boys, League Tag, Reserve Grade and Women’s Open Tackles, [which is] going to a full competition next year, we just need to decide [whether it] be 11-a-side or 13-a-side, and then back to First Grade at 2:30pm.”

While the changes are sure to attract some criticism from some within the game, Daly said the move, which capitalises on booming female participation in the game, should actually help build clubs’ numbers and by bringing in more players and therefore potential volunteers. 

“We [Group 9] had a trial game against Group 20 Under 17 Women’s Tackle before the NRL trial game last weekend, [and] there were about 40 odd girls that applied for that [and] we had to still knock some girls back,” he said.

“There’s plenty of interest down there for that age group, it depends on if clubs get on board and try and attract some girls and advertise for it. 

“We’ll just see how many we get first and see if it’s a viable competition.”

It’s no secret that the Under 16 competition in Group 9 has been struggling in recent years, but Daly believes bringing the age group under the umbrella of the junior setup is the key to retaining players who are leaving en masse the game in their teenage years.

“Going by [stats across] New South Wales, the drop-off is pretty quick after the 13s and 15s, so they’re trying to make them stay in the juniors a bit longer so they build up their resilience to go into First Grade or the seniors,” he said.

“To attract some more girls into the competition might alleviate that drop-off in the 16s [for senior clubs], [and it will] get more girls playing rugby league and make clubs a bit stronger that way.”

A Women’s Tackle competition has been run on a non-competitive trial basis in 2024, with six clubs fielding sides, including new club Estella Storm.

Meanwhile, neighbouring competition Group 20 are also expected to move their Under 16s under the umbrella of their junior clubs in the coming years, ending the tradition of the Riverina region being the only division with Under 16 age group being in the seniors, however the move would have less of an impact on that league due to their juniors following the senior draw on Sundays.

Changes to Group 20’s female rugby league setup, which also involved a trial Women’s Tackle competition this year, are yet to be confirmed.

The change brings rugby league into line with other sports as well, with the Riverina and Farrer Leagues in Aussie Rules running their 15s in the juniors, with Under 17.5s/18s being the first senior grade.