THROUGH the first two months of the Tarsha Gale season, it appeared like no one could come close to Daniel Lacey’s Illawarra Steelers.
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During that period, the red and white won all eight matches by scoring 468 while only conceding 180 – to sit in equal first spot heading into the final round of the regular season.
This streak was halted in round nine against fellow undefeated side Cronuulla-Sutherland, with the latter recording a 70-12 victory to secure the minor premiership.
While the loss hurt, Lacey’s troops moved past it and turned their attention to the Wests Tigers in the qualifying final.
But luck was against the Steelers, losing 33-32 on the back of a field goal by Emily Curtain.
Thankfully because of their second place finish on the table, the Steelers had earned themselves a double chance, setting up an elimination final clash with rivals St George – a team they defeated 58-32 in round six.
But it appeared that the Steelers’ luck had well and truly run out on Saturday, when they fell 38-30 at Leichhardt Oval, to end their 2018 season.
“Heading into Saturday’s game, I thought we had turned a corner and had the confidence to win,” Lacey said.
“But all that confidence we had built up went out the window when we kicked out on the full to start the game and they scored off the restart.
“Although we tried hard, it just seemed that every time we tried to get on top, St George had an answer.
“Little errors on our behalf didn’t help either, putting us under pressure – made worse with every little 50/50 situation going against us.
“But as I said to the girls, that’s rugby league.”
In Saturday’s game, Lacey was without the services of Abbey Holmes, Abbey Montgomery, Keely Davis, Michaela and Shannon Scutts and Rhiannon Brown – leaving him with just 13 players available.
“We were quite luckless during the last month of the season – the more we tried, the harder things seemed to get,” Lacey said.
“Due to injuries, it was hard to get momentum and sometimes felt like it was two steps forward, one step back for us.
“In saying that, despite the final three weeks, it’s still be a very successful season for the girls.
“To finish second at the end of the regular season is nothing to sneeze at.
“But we ultimately fell short of our goal, which I’m sure all the girls eligible for next year’s side will use as motivation.”
Lacey will now shift his attention to the St George Illawarra Dragons women’s side ahead of their inaugural season.
“We are currently deep in preparations for the women’s NRL, with player negotiations starting to take shape,” he said.
“Hopefully in the coming weeks we can get some girls to put pen to paper and start working as a group.
“”It’s exciting time for women’s rugby league, that’s for sure.”
Lacey, who intends to be involved again next season with the Tarsha Gale set up in 2019 depending on his NRL commitments, is also looking at including a number of his under 18s players in the Dragons squad.
“To be eligible for the Dragons, you must be 18, so some of our older girls will get a strong look when we decide the squad – as I know they are up to it,” he said.
“Then the younger girls, who we want to continue to nurture, we will include in our pathways program, to assist their growth.
“In the same breath, we are also working hard with the under 16s squad, to ease their transition into the Tarsha Gale next season.”
During the season, Lacey’s side included Group Seven products Bronte Girdler (Stingrays), Abbey Montgomery (Milton-Ulladulla), Dakotah Austin (Milton-Ulladulla), Chantelle Newman (Milton-Ulladulla), Rhiannan Brown (Bomaderry) and Hannah England (Milton-Ulladulla).
Steelers’ Tarsha Gale squad: Lilly-Rose Bennett, Leanne Jackson, Maddison Weatherall, Eleni Amone, Hannah Byron, Keely Davis (c), Abby Holmes, Hannah England, Mikayla Kidd, Chantelle Newman, Victoria Barham, Bronte Girdler, Abbey Montgomery, Michaela Scutts, Shannon Scutts, Emily Andrews, Dakotah Austin and Taneisha Roberts.