Raiders NRLW coach Darrin Borthwick to scout Erindale College rugby league stars at NSW Schoolgirls Cup

Erindale College's women's rugby league team will be out to make history at Campbelltown Sports Stadium when they face The Hills Sports High School for the silverware, and Borthwick is planning to be there to watch every minute.

The Raiders coach will have a close eye on the Erindale talent, to see if there are some future Green Machine players in waiting.

NRL clubs often snap up male players while in high school, to lock them into their system in the hopes they will eventually climb the ranks to first grade as home-grown products.

The NRLW has only been going since 2018, but very quickly the league's improving professionalism and competitiveness is seeing clubs take similar interest in high school footy, to try and snap up players with potential in their catchment area.

"We'll do our due diligence and make sure that we're identifying the right ones and that we keep them in the system," Borthwick told The Canberra Times.

"You see that other clubs have a really good junior base, and you can't keep everyone. Part of our strategy is that we'll be keeping an eye on everyone around here.

"I'm looking forward to hopefully getting up to watch that final myself to watch Erindale play, and I'll be looking to see what talents there are and filter them through our Lisa Fiaola (under-17s) and Tarsha Gale (under-19s) programs."

Borthwick said the growth of the women's game in Canberra, as demonstrated with Erindale's successful league program, is a promising sign for the strength of the club long-term.

"We speak about how 'you can't be what you can't see' and now those young girls at school can aspire to put on a green jersey at the highest level," he said. "It's all great for the region."

Current Raiders NRLW players that came through the Canberra system in Tarsha Gale Cup include prop Ahlivia Ingram and Alanna Dummett.

Ingram is also a former student of Erindale College and played in their girls rugby league side.

Three cross-code Raiders stars from the Canberra region include Grace Kemp and Ella Ryan, while hooker Ua Ravu and second-rower Elise Smith both played locally in the Katrina Fanning Shield first grade competition before being promoted to the NRLW side.

The Hills Sports High School v Erindale College, Wednesday 11.30am at Campbelltown Sports Stadium

Westfields Sports High School v Patrician Brothers Blacktown, Wednesday 1pm at Campbelltown Sports Stadium

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