Red Devils women shine at rep level

A contingent of Gunnedah Red Devils women put their best foot forward as they were part of the Central North team which placed third at last weekend’s NSW Country Championship at Scully Park.

The quintet of Madisan Rogers, Jean Littlewood, Holly Ford, Lupe Mikaele and Abby Nortrup lined up for Central North while one of the coaches was the coach of the Gunnedah women’s team: Matt Hannay.

Hannay was assisted by former Australian Sevens rugby player Gemma Noller (nee Etheridge), who won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Running the water for Central North was another Red Devils identity, Steph Lennon, who was recently forced to stop playing due to injury.

Central North began with a commendable 20-7 loss to Central West, which ultimately won the final 46-0 against Mid North Coast.

Central West had many more clubs than Central North to select players from, while the Central West players were more experienced at playing 15-a-side compared to the Central North players who were more familiar with 10-a-side.

Hannay nonetheless said the Central North players adapted very well to 15-a-side football last weekend, as they had experienced it at past representative fixtures and had watched it and understood it.

The five Gunnedah players were in the starting side in Central North’s first outing, as Central West scored four tries to one.

Hannay said losing by only 13 points to a strong team “was a testament to the effort” of Central North, especially after Central North had two players yellow-carded.

Having sustained a knee injury against Central West, Mikaele was rested for the following contest while Nortrup was used off the interchange bench.

Littlewood scored a try in a 14-7 win against Central Coast, as the victors scored two converted tries to one.

In the subsequent play-off for third and fourth places, Mikaele and Nortrup returned to Central North’s starting line-up while Ford started on the interchange bench.

After Emily Kelso was injured in the first five minutes, Ford played most of the game as Central North scored four tries to two in a 26-12 victory.

Hannay said he “couldn’t be happier” with how the team performed throughout the weekend.

“They punched above their weight. They exceeded all expectations,” he said.

“Nothing was a problem.

“They were very professional with the way they approached it.”

Hannay said club combinations came in handy, including having the fullback, five-eighth and halfback from Narrabri.

Noller rated Rogers as the best back of the tournament, while Littlewood was named players’ player by her peers after she played in every minute of every game.

Gunnedah’s representative players return to club football this Saturday as the Red Devils host Inverell.