St George Illawarra's NRLW team will have eyes fixed on a premiership when the season kicks off against the Gold Coast in Wollongong on Sunday.
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But the legendary former Australian captain Tarsha Gale has urged the Dragons to already start taking a longer view.
The last campaign will motivate them, having suffered a crushing grand final defeat to the Roosters, but expansion of the competition from six to 10 teams next year looms as a major threat.
Running an eye down Jamie Soward's Dragons team sheet, there's barely a chink in their armour.
Cult hero Elise Albert leads the engine room, Kezie Apps and Shaylee Bent provide fearsome impact on the edges.
Keeley Davis and Quincy Dodd are the dynamic dummy-half double act, Rachael Pearson has the kicking game to steer them to glory.
Teagan Berry, Keele Browne, Page McGregor and Andie Robinson, who scored three tries in NSW's under-19 State of Origin triumph in June, are all attacking weapons. And that's all before mentioning the reigning Dally M co-champion Emma Tonegato.
The premiership may have eluded them so far, but they have the talent to build a Penrith or Melbourne-like dominance in the men's game.
The danger, Gale says, is the new clubs to enter in 2023 - Canberra, Cronulla, North Queensland and Wests, chasing star recruits.
"I really hope that Sowie keeps them together, so many of them are Gong girls, they're pretty loyal," Gale, who has the NSW under-19 competition named after her, said.
"No-one knows what it's going to like next year, we've seen the Harvey Norman (NSW) competition with players going to other clubs, so I'm sure they'd want to sign some of that Dragons talent.
"But you'd love to keep them together [at the Dragons], they could be really successful for a long time to come. You look at a player like Keeley Davis, she's 22 and already a leader at the club."
Gale, who remains a voice of women's rugby league as a Fox Sports commentator, endorsed a move to establish the Illawarra Steelers in the NSW competition, which would complete the pathway and potentially prevent players like Apps winning premierships with the Tigers.
Last week, the Steelers bid was launched, with coach Alicia-Kate Hawke and Davis the public faces of the campaign.
"It's the missing link, the one step needed in the pathway system," she said.
"It needs to happen. Illawarra is the great nursery of women's rugby league, the future looks very bright for the region."
While pre-season predictions are fraught, Gale expects the Dragons to make another grand final, with a Millie Boyle-led Newcastle the surging challenger.
Gale also pointed to Dragons centre Browne's NSW premiership form with the Tigers as a player to watch in the NRLW.
"The Dragons should be there, but Newcastle have recruited really well and even if the Knights drop an early game, they might make a charge later on," she said.
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