Canberra women to play in State of Origin

Posted on 29 September, 2017

This weekend Lauren Salvestro will now be competing in Australia’s first ever Women’s State of Origin Touch Rugby League (TRL) Championships for NSW.

Originally a born and bred country girl from Griffith in south-western NSW, Lauren first started playing TRL in 2016 socially with her work colleagues. After soon realising she wanted to play at a more elite level she joined the Canberra Vikings TRL team.

Lauren has only been playing TRL for 18 months, so to reach this level of competition is an enormous accomplishment for the 24-year-old. Lauren plays as a winger for the Canberra Vikings TRL team and will be up against Queensland’s toughest players who have been selected for the Women’s Origin Team.

Comradery and friendship were two of the most rewarding aspects of playing the game for Lauren. She has found a small family at the Canberra Vikings Club and highly recommends girls of all ages from Canberra to get involved in TRL. Lauren will be playing alongside two of her closest friends and team mates from the Canberra Viking’s Club, Claudia Nielsen and Kayla Bonney. All three women will compete in the State TRL Competition on Friday 29 September and the National TRL Competition on Saturday 30 September to Sunday 1 October.

Players selected for the event have represented their local competitions at a State-level during the year at the Queensland and New South Wales State Championships.

“The event will see the highest calibre of players come together and showcase the very best TRL talent in the country” says TRL Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Stefan Ziesolleck. “We are very excited to see our newcomers Newcastle, Greater Western Sydney and Melbourne represented on the national stage.”

With over 850 competitors and officials and around 1500 spectators expected to attend from across the country, this is a fantastic opportunity for women competing in TRL to showcase their skill and ability.

The Women’s State of Origin Touch (TRL) Championships is worthy of our celebration, because it marks a period where female elitism is being more strongly supported within the Australian sporting arena. Touch Rugby League Australia have extended their support for female competition for a number of years by offering females the opportunity to play in mixed teams.

The Women’s State of Origin game NSW Vs QLD is scheduled at 6.30pm under the lights of Dolphin Stadium on Friday 29 September in the Moreton Bay Region, QLD. To see the live footage stream, follow the TRL Facebook Page. We can’t wait to watch the Canberra girls go down in history and witness the first ever Women’s State of Origin (TRL) game in Australia.

Feature image via www.facebook.com/TouchRugbyLeagueAU