Melbourne Storm is searching for the best young female talent in Victoria to join the inaugural Storm Female Development program.
Following the success of the Female Footy Festival held at the State Rugby League and Community Centre in Broadmeadows, Storm is now establishing a new pathway for female players in Victoria.
Storm CEO, Justin Rodski, said the new development program will help the club lay the foundations for a pathway to NRLW.
“This is an exciting time for the female game in Victoria and we are ready to find the best young talent in the state,” Rodski said.
“We want to give Victorian players the chance to play at the highest level, whether they come from rugby league or other codes.
“We know there is a lot of work to do to get the pathways rights, develop the talent we have in Victoria and have the facilities in place for our girls to train and play.
“We can’t do that alone and will be working with our commercial and government partners to give our female future stars the best possible chance to wear the purple jersey in the future.”
Storm will hold three combine sessions in the hunt for the best female rugby league players and will open an expression of interest for coaches, sports trainers, physiotherapist and strength and conditioning staff to join their elite pathway program.
The final squad of players and staff will embark on a 12-week training and development program overseen by Melbourne Storm coaches and staff, before heading off on a three-day tour of New South Wales for trial matches.
The three combines will be held in the following locations:
Storm North Hub
Seabrook Reserve, Broadmeadows
Sunday 9th June
9.00am – 11.00am
Storm West Hub
Location TBC
Sunday 16th June
9.00am – 11.00am
Storm Southeast Hub
Casey Warriors RL Club, Casey Fields
Sunday 23rd June
9.00am – 11.00am
Storm’s Female Pathway Program Manager, Pauline Poloai, said the combines will be open to players born in 2008 or 2009.
“There are more girls playing rugby league in Victoria than ever before, which is great for our game,” Poloai said.
“Now we have a clear pathway for those who want to test themselves and be part of a high-performance program who we hope will, one day, go on to become players in a Storm NRLW team.
“We have three combines available in the west, north and south-east to give all players the chance to get to one of the sessions if they want to try our for our development squad.
“It is exciting to think these girls might one day be playing for Storm in the NRLW.”
Players can only register for one combine. To register, please click on the link below:
To register as a member of staff, please click on the link below:
The Storm Female Development Squad is supported by the Women of Storm initiative in partnership with Co-Presenting Partners Kangan Institute and BMD and supporting partners Cointree, Suzuki, The Amazing Baby Company, Gallaghers and Kieser.
