Twelve Dirty Reds, seven women and five men, have been selected in Brumbies Country squads on the strength of their performances in the Brumbies Provincial Championships at Wagga Wagga on Saturday.
In their inaugural outing, the South Coast Monaro women’s team accounted for Southern Inlands by 19-14 with Goulburn players Pearl Rakete and Krystal Blackwell both scoring tries.
From the Goulburn contingent, Paige Penning, Hope Cohen, Pearl Rakete, Jordan Brooker, Ashley Mewburn, Elly Hazelton and Krystal Blackwell were selected in the first ever Brumbies Country women’s team that will take on Brumbies City.
The Men’s Monaro team, meanwhile, lost to Southern Inlands by 23-22 in extra time. And while the Monaro men’s side didn’t win, just like the South Coast Monaro’s women’s side, they outscored Southern Inlands by three tries to two.
Goulburn players selected for Brumbies Country from the Monaro Men’s side include Will Mooney, Jordan Wilcox, Adam Lachlan, Jackson Reardon and Alec Palmer.
The Brumbies Country side is a new representative level, and the Goulburn players chosen in the side will be the first ever to achieve this accomplishment.
The new ACT & Southern NSW Rugby pathway consists of three levels and provides genuine and significant pathways to regional players:
- Teams from South Coast, Monaro and Southern Inlands contest the Brumbies Provincial Championship from which the men’s and women’s Brumbies Country teams are chosen.
- The Brumbies Country team then plays in a three-way tournament at Rugby Park, Goulburn on 17 September against Brumbies City North and Brumbies City South (the city sides made up of players from the Canberra-based players in the various ACT men’s and women’s divisions).
- Players from those matches will be selected in the ACT & Southern NSW Griffins side to play in Adelaide on the October long weekend.
Goulburn Rugby Club President Jackson Reardon described the selections, both initially against Southern Inlands, and subsequently for Brumbies Country as a massive accomplishment for the club.
‘It was a huge effort to have so many players from Goulburn in the men’s and women’s squad, and everyone played really well,” he said.
“It shows the club is really strong at the moment, and that was reflected in the selections for Brumbies Country with 12 players making those teams across the men and women.”
Also in Wagga Wagga were junior girls teams preparing for their representative calendar. They will compete in the Southern State Championships in Canberra in July.
South Coast Monaro U14 girls
Pictured are Charlotte Writer, Bobby Remington, Ellie McCormack, Tamia Corby, Emma Seaman and Lucy Leighton. South Coast Monaro U14 Girls. They are all at Trinity. All play for Trinity Dolphins except Lucy who plays for Yass.
Under 16 Girls
Three of the four U16s girls. L-R – Meg Toparis (Trinity Dolphins), Nicole Waddell (Wests Lionesses), Emily Stanberg (West Lionesses). Absent Lily Tergen (Trinity Dolphins).
Under 18 Girls
Maddy Campbell (Goulburn High School) is first girl on left in Goulburn shirt. Dave Anable is one of the 18’s coaches and Jasmine Bes (Trinity) is 4th girl from the left facing the camera.
