Alicia-Kate Hawke will be the inaugural coach while, in a major coup, Jillaroos star Keeley Davis will captain the club in a return to Wollongong after spending the past three seasons with perennial powerhouse Mounties.

In circumstances not dissimilar to those that gave birth to the Steelers in 1982, the Illawarra Rugby League has launched the bid in order to halt a steady procession of Wollongong talent heading north to Sydney.

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A total of 26 Illawarra-produced players turned out in this year's NSW Premiership in the absence of an Illawarra competition for the first time since 2011.

The exodus was headlined by the high-profile defection of star Helensburgh pair Kezie Apps and Jess Sergis to eventual premiers Wests Tigers.

While the Steelers have been a consistent powerhouse at Tarsha Gale Cup (under 19s) level, the top-grade drain exposed a gap in the pathway to St George Illawarra's NRLW squad.

Current Tarsha Gale Cup coach Hawke, who's also part of Jamie Soward's NRLW coaching staff, said an Illawarra presence in the state's premier competition was an absolute must.

"It's been something we've been really keen to have and it feels like we've been fighting for for a number of years," she said.

"We've watched too much great talent from our area either going off to other teams or even giving up football altogether.

"A lot of our best girls that have been really successful in Tarsha Gale Cup and local competitions felt they had nowhere else to go.

"Trying to then grab them all back at NRLW level [for St George Illawarra] was a lot harder, so this really is the missing piece, and a crucial one.

"As [NRLW] expands it certainly helps the club to be able to draw from a local talent pool, especially the one we've got because I think [the Illawarra] is the greatest breeder of young talent in rugby league for men and women."

There is no greater case in point than Corrimal Cougars product Davis, who was Player of the Year for the Steelers in the inaugural season of the Tarsha Gale Cup in 2017.

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She's turned that start into key roles with St George Illawarra, NSW and Australia, but has plied her club. trade at Mounties in recent seasons.

She's confident a host of home-grown products will jump at the chance to don a Steelers jumper each week.

"They've got all the right people involved in having Alicia as coach and other staff and it was something I always saw myself coming back to," Davis said.

"I've come through the pathway and just knowing how strong our local juniors are it was really important to me that we retain those girls going forward.

"We have such a strong area and to now have that streamlined progression, I think we'll see a big Illawarra contingent progressing through to the Dragons.

"Our junior talent's so strong, there's so many really good young girls coming through the Lisa Fiaola and Tarsha Gale systems.

"I'm sure if those girls come through over the next few years we'll have a really strong team that's only going to get better and better.

"I think we're going to see some great talent emerge and it's great that they can do it locally and have that full pathway in front of them."

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