GROWING up, Erin Blackwell just wanted the chance to play park footy. Donning the most famous jersey in rugby league was something she could never have dreamed of.
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It’s now more than a dream with Blackwell set to player her part in rugby league history when St George Illawarra take on Cronulla at Southern Cross Group Stadium on Saturday.
The Nines clash will mark the first time NRL franchises have fielded female sides and continues a rapid growth in the women’s game that has chief executive Todd Greenberg striving towards establishing a national women’s league by 2021.
For the reigning Women in Defence League player of the year, it’s an exciting prospect.
“When you’re young I always thought I’d just never have the opportunity to play for an NRL club because I wasn’t a boy,” Blackwell said.
“I really didn’t imagine it because when I was young they never had women in the NRL. I always played OzTag when I was younger and I always thought about how good it would be to play rugby league. I always wished I was a boy so I’d have this kind of opportunity but now I have the chance it’s really really exciting.”
The Illawarra Rugby League has been a driving force in the growth of the women’s game with the Sharks line-up for Saturday’s clash also featuring former Helensburgh Tigerlillies and current Jillaroos Sam Bremner, Ruan Sims, Maddie Studdon and Allana Ferguson.
Blackwell debuted for the Burgh alongside the quartet five years ago and is relishing the chance to come up against them alongside club-mate and star Jillaroo Kezie Apps on Saturday.
“It was really great, I always looked up to them but I never thought I’d actually be playing against them,” Blackwell said.
“It’s going to be a good challenge, I learned a lot from all of them. It’s good going in as underdog. Kezie’s a big plus for us and I think we’ll give them a good contest.”
Corrimal hooker Tammy Fletcher is also relishing the chance to resume rivalries that began back with the formation of the Illawarra league in 2010. Having been there from the start, Fletcher says the game has progressed rapidly in recent seasons.
“I think we started with six teams in 2010 and it was exciting but being a regional area and introducing a contact sport for women we had a couple of years there where we thought the comp might fold,” Fletcher said.
“It’s picked up in the last couple of years and now with the introduction of this Nines competition being backed by the Dragons it’s going to be a huge promotion for women playing rugby league in the Illawarra.
“It’s created another great pathway for women to really strive for more.”