IT’S set to play out on a much bigger stage than he envisioned, but newly appointed St George Illawarra women’s coach Daniel Lacey’s core mission remains the same – help the game’s female players realise their dreams.
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In March the Dragons were granted one of four licenses for the inaugural NRL Women’s Premiership that will be held in conjunction with the NRL finals later this year.
It’s bid rested largely on the club's efforts in developing women’s pathways in it’s traditional bases and all the way down the South Coast.
It made Lacey, who’s overseen the Illawarra Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup side’s run to the finals the past two seasons, the ideal appointment.
“I’m sure there were lots of good candidates so to be the first Dragons NRL women’s coach is a great honour,” Lacey said.
“As a coach you always get a kick out of watching players improve and then go on to higher honours. I’ve watched some of the boys I’ve coached in SG Ball go through to play NRL and it’s great to see them get to that level.
“To now get to watch the girls get the same chance to be at the top of their sport in an NRL competition played around the finals on the big stage is really exciting.”
His efforts with the Steelers are part of extensive resume in the women’s game that's seen him coach NSW in 2013 and the NRL Women’s All-Stars in 2014.
Having witnessed the Illawarra’s role, on and off the paddock, in the rapid growth of the game, Lacey said an NRL license was just reward for the region.
“I’ve been involved in the women’s game for a fair while now and I could see the potential there and I could see how much the girls wanted to pursue higher honours,” Lacey said.
“I’ve coached NSW and I got the chance to coach the NRL All-Stars team in 2014 so it’s been a bit of a progression there where I’ve seen it go from that stage through to now.
“Now NSW is winning the [interstate] competition which is great, the Australian teams now beating the Kiwis. 5-10 years ago that wasn’t happening.
“It’s a credit to our area because we’ve been a big contributor to that, staff-wise, administration-wise and of course player-wise.”
Contract talks for the new competition were due to open this week but have been delayed as the NRL work through some minor issues with the Rugby League Players’ Association.
The NRL has released a list of the top 40 “marquee” players that inlcude Dragons ambassadors and Jillaroos stars Kezie Apps and Sam Bremner. Lacey said he’ll lean on both as he looks to put together his roster.
“We’ve had a look at our options in what we can do and obviously Sammy and Kezie are a big part of it,” Lacey said.
“As a coach, when you’re at the open level you really want to make sure your senior players have their input.
“They’re helping me with the top 40 that the NRL have said we can choose from. They obviously know all the girls well and how they would fit into our team.
“We’ll be looking at our locals first and then we’ll look over the next few weeks to talk to some other players.”
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
