Boggabri wins first game of tackle comp

The Boggabri and District Rugby League Club’s women’s nines squad has kicked off the Group Four Rugby League women’s nines competition in the best possible way.

The Kangaroos scored an impressive 36-20 win over the South West Robins team at Ken Chillingworth Oval in Tamworth.

Boggabri scored early but the Robins offered some resistance, fighting back before the Kangaroos ran away with the contest.

Debutante Cassidy Morley scored two tries and new star April Smith scored one try in the side’s 16
point victory.

Boggabri captain Cloe Davies, Toni Gale and Ashlee Haire went over for their side’s other three four-pointers to lead the Kangaroos to an emphatic first round victory.

Smith was perfect from the boot converting six goals from six attempts.

“I was really pleased with the team,” said Boggabri Kangaroos women’s nines coach Jason Kemp.

“We have a couple of girls who have played tackle before but most of them are pretty new to the competition.

“They’re improving out of sight.

“From training to the game on the weekend, they are all going really well.”

Kemp said the win was not unexpected given the talent the side possesses.

“It didn’t surprise me too much,” he said.

“We have a couple of new girls who I think are really classy players.

“[April Smith] coming from the Blue Boars, who played in the sevens squad for them this year, and [Cassidy Morley] who played league tag for Boggabri this year, with both of them now in the squad I knew we were going to be a pretty hard team to beat.”

Kemp said the hardest thing for the players was the transition between the league tag format and the tackle competition.

“The girls who are newer to it are still struggling confidence-wise to get in there and use their bodies to get the other team down,” he said.

“But we’re working on that and that’s pretty much all we will be working on at training.

“I’m happy for them to go out there and throw the ball around like they know they can do.”