Batemans Bay Tigers secretary, Anita Mitchell, confirmed that along with the South Coast women's open tackle team which is currently being formed to compete in Canberra, the club would also field a separate League Tag side to play in the local competition.

"I'm excited, because the ladies tag team is up and running, and they'll be starting their training on the 18^th," Mitchell said.

"In addition to that, our club is managing a Group 16 women's tackle team to be based in Batemans Bay which will play in the [Katrina Fanning Shield]."

The Batemans Bay Tigerettes last played in 2019, but when COVID-19 struck the next year, the team opted out of the competition.

Since then, Mitchell has consistently pushed for another local women's team, and early signs indicate that the club has the numbers to once again field a side.

"They were going along fine and then when COVID first hit, they stopped and there was a chance we could have played in Canberra, but the girls weren't fit so they let it go that year," she said.

"I sent a letter to them, saying that we've got little kids playing tag in the juniors club but no senior team, and they've got to have something to aspire to.

"Some of the older girls that have played before are coming back on board to help out, and I've got a lot of new girls who have never played before."

The interest shown by the locals is heartening for Mitchell, who hopes to set up a strong foundation for women's rugby league in the coming seasons.

"[That interest] is encouraging when you're a female trying to get people involved in women's sport," she said.

"I'm hoping to lay the groundwork for women at the club before I leave. I'm not getting any younger and I just want to see it up and running in the next year or two.

"And the kids are getting very keen, there's a lot of little kids playing junior tag, and a few playing junior tackle. But you've got to have something for them when they're 16."

While the league tag creates interest from local juniors, Mitchell also believes that the South Coast women's tackle team will inspire more women to participate as it will provide a direct pathway to the NRLW.

Last November, Canberra Raiders CEO Don Furner Jr outlined the plan to form a Raiders women's team in 2023 to play in the NRLW, and confirmed that the Katrina Fanning Shield would serve as a talent identification competition.

This, Mitchell said, will hopefully reinvigorate the local players who have struggled to pursue their dreams of high-level rugby league due to a lack of opportunity.

"It's a big drawcard," she said.

"Some of them were already picked for rep football either in Canberra or the Illawarra, and that shut down overnight too [due to COVID].

"We just got the legs cut from under us, and so it's been really tough for two years."

The Tigers will begin pre-season training this Tuesday, January 18, at Mackay Park from 5.45pm.