A new female rugby league team will be based out of Cessnock Sportsground as part of the female equivalent of the NRL competition.
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The Hunter Stars will replace the now-defunct Maitland Pickers women’s side in the 2016 Sydney Metropolitan Competition, which is a selection pool for State of Origin and the Australian women’s side, the Jillaroos.
Hunter Stars CEO Emma Worthington was a personal sponsor of the female Pickers and was devastated when the team fell apart and failed to finish the 2015 season.
Not wanting that to be the end of the story, she got a hold of ex-Newcastle Knight Mick Young and ex-Jillaroo Bec Young to give women in the region a chance to continue to play the game.
Realising how hard it is to start a women’s team from scratch they decided to reach out to an existing club for support.
Being from the Hunter Valley, Worthington said she thought of Cessnock as she considers it one of the best grounds in NSW.
The Cessnock club got straight behind the idea straight away; with the Stars set to become a sister side to the Goannas.
The women will train and play their six home games at the Vincent Street ground, with plans to structure games to be played after the Goannas of an afternoon.
The team met with Goannas club officials on Sunday to tour the stadium.
Cessnock Goannas secretary David Cleaves said the club is thrilled to have the Stars on board with them.
“As a committee we’re excited and we’re thrilled to have you use this as your home ground,” he said.
Stars coach Mick Young said they are appreciative to be able to utilise a home ground of Cessnock’s calibre.
“This is the best ground outside the NRL,” he said.
“Facilities like this don’t come around too often.”
Being the club’s first year of competition, Worthington said while winning games would be great, they are mainly aiming to increase their audience and interest in the women’s side of NRL.
It’s no secret that the difference between the profile of women’s rugby league and men’s rugby league is quite a lot.
None of the women in the league are paid for playing, and the cost of registration and insurance alone for a team per season is $6000.
“We’re nowhere near NRL, we’re trying to bridge that gap,” Worthington said.
“We have to push the sport otherwise it’s going to dwindle.
“It’s about getting out there and showing we’re a professional side.
“We want to lift the benchmark, and with that comes exposure for Cessnock.”
Several Maitland players will transfer over to the Hunter side, along with other local talents, but the club are currently seeking more players to join the team.
They are also looking for businesses to join current sponsors The Settlers Arms and Worthingtons Vineyard in support of the team.
For more information, email admin@hunterstars.com.au.
The 2016 Sydney Metropolitan Competition is set to kick off on April 1.