Lacey, who is also the Illawarra Steelers Under 18 girls Tarsha Gale Cup coach, has been involved in the women's game since 2013. The new NRL competition, he believes, has triggered a boom in interest in women’s rugby league. 

“I said to the girls in the change rooms, the thing we’re really excited about is now the young girls can see the pathway into what these girls have done,” Lacey said after Saturday’s loss to the Roosters.

“Now we look forward to producing the new girls that come through into our pathways. That’s the best thing about this competition, that it was all new, now it’s been out there and everybody wants more.”

Lacey highlighted the explosion in popularity of the Sam Bremner Shield, to be contested in Albion Park on Tuesday, as an example of the interest among girls.  

This year will see a record 45 teams contest the ninth edition of the southern NSW schools competition. 

“Yes definitely the interest has grown, both in our area, and, if you look at the numbers now in the state cup, even outside our area. We have the Sam Bremner Shield and teams have gone from 20 to 45 in one year.

“There’s some really good stories there, we love the feedback from young girls that want to be a part of this. They want to be the next Kezie [Apps], want to know how to do it and we can give them a pathway now. The numbers are staggering to tell you the truth.

“I think as a game we need to be on top of that, facilitate every aspect of that. I know at the Dragons we sort of had things in place for the last couple of years. I’m glad we’re ahead of it, because we’ve got to keep on top of it.”

While the sport has found a new player base among girls, the increase in player numbers has been seen across women of all ages. 

The Illawarra region has been at the forefront of the women's game, with the launch of a women's first grade competition in 2011. 

After playing for Berkeley in 2017, Avondale’s Shakiah Tungai made the move to her local club in 2018, with the Greyhounds fielding a women’s team for the first time this season. 

“This year at Avondale the majority of the girls were new to the game,” Tungai said. “Next year and in the years to come it’s just going to get bigger with newcomers, so I’m looking forward to that. 

“There’s a pathway now for local girls through the Steelers and the Tarsha Gale girls. It’s awesome that Daniel picked local girls for our NRL side.”