On the back of COVID disruption, people moving away and a couple of players having kids – mighty Yamba was unable to field a senior women’s team last year.
But with rearview vision, that will be just a blip in the fabled success story of the club, who were grand finalists in the women’s competition when they last took the field in 2019.
Yamba’s brief hiatus even saw a couple of their women declaring ‘game on’ in 2020 as they played in the men’s teams.
“My team mate Lizzie and I had a go just to keep fit. We picked up some skills (in the men’s). It was a little bit faster and sometimes a little bit rougher,” Yamba women’s representative Nicolien Haafwee said.
“To their credit the guys we were playing against showed good sportsmanship. They played us on skill, not on brute strength. It was a lot of fun,” Nicolien said.
With as many as 15 players likely for their squad in 2021, the senior women will be same-same, different, and looking forward to getting on the pitch.
“We have plenty aged in their 20s and 30s, a few mums which is awesome, and some junior girls coming through,” Nicolien said.
“We have some incredibly talented players and some girls who have never played before.
“The hard working committee from Yamba Breakers as a club decided to give women a heavy discount on their rego fee as part of the incentive to come join our team. Without them we would not have been able to build up a team.”
Image: Yamba women are good to go in 2021.