Armidale’s Kayla Kim is well on the way to a potential rugby league career.
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The teenager will be part of the Sydney Roosters under-18 side for the Tarsha Gale Cup.
The nine-a-side competition is run by NSW Rugby League and will enter its third year in 2019 after a successful first two seasons and Kayla is excited to be part of it.
“I just love footy altogether, it especially growing up around it,” she said.
“I’ve been around footy all my life and I grew up playing footy around with my cousins, just like muck around games.”
Her family is well entrenched in the sport with four cousins in NSW Rugby League and Women’s NRL teams.
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Kayla has played league tag formally for a number of years and didn’t start in the tackle version of the sport until this year at the PCYC Nations of Origin tournament in July.
“I’ve only just started playing tackle footy when the first under 17s nines comp started,” she said.
“But my first actual tackle game was when I played at the Nations of Origin this year.”
She played in the Lismore Knockout Carnival and former NRL player and Armidale local Dean Widders suggested she try out for the Tarsha Gale competition.
She then played in the recent Group 19 under 17s nines tournament.
“When I playing a game of tackle footy at the Lismore knockout, Dean Widders was talking to my dad and told him to tell me to come down and try out,” Kayla said.
“So we traveled to Sydney when it started getting closer to the trial dates.”
There are some familiar faces among the playing group.
“There’s a lot of country girls from all over actually,” Kayla said.
“I know a couple of girls that play, some of them are even my cousins.”
With women’s rugby league on the rise and more opportunities available for women, Kayla is hoping to “make something” out of the opportunity in playing in the junior representative competition.
Moree’s Jordan Mackenzie was also named in the Roosters’ Tarsha Gale team.