NEW season, new game for the Lady Hawks, who will be taking on tackle rugby league for the first time in 2024.

The Lady Hawks started pre-season training on 4 January, getting an early jump on their first full season of Ladies Tackle to be fielded by the modern Hawks RLFC.

“This is a want from many of the girls, they are looking for that contact sport,” Leah Saunders told NOTA.

Several of the players at last Tuesday’s Myall Park training agreed, with one saying, “Tackle could get more interest from a crowd, and is more interesting for the players,” citing latent frustrations with the nature of last year’s Touch competition.

Although this is the Club’s first official Ladies Tackle team, many Ladies are veterans of parallel competitions, including a nine-a-side competition that the Lady Hawks entered in 2018.

The Ladies cited their reasons for pursuing the sport as “fun, fitness, and socialising”, and their enthusiasm was indefatigable, even after Coaches Ryan Saunders and Luke Perry warmed them up with a brisk several hundred metres of sprinting.

They have come from all over to play, including Tea Gardens, Bulahdelah, Clarence Town, Medowie, New Lambton, and even one all the way from Sydney.

“It’s a good club, like a family,” said one teammate.

“We come together as a team, get to know each other.”

Coach Saunders was impressed, saying, “The same dedicated group keeps turning up for the team, aiming for the same goal together.

“Seeing you all turn up each week, it’s a motivation for me, too.”

“We have 20 ladies signed up so far, but are looking for more, 18 and over,” Leah added.

Any interested ladies may contact the TG Hawks Facebook page, or come to the Myall Park field Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6pm and talk to Leah.

The wider competition teams were nominated on 30 January, and the Hawks are planning trial games in March before the main season kicks off after Easter.

By Thomas O’KEEFE