New Women's manager delighted with Talent ID

Many of the best young female players from across the Balmain and Western Suburbs catchment areas recently hit the turf for the Lisa Fiaola Cup Talent Identification Session in Campbelltown.

Sixty-five girls aged fifteen and sixteen turned out for the session at St Gregory’s College, where they had the opportunity to put their skills on display in front of Wests Tigers coaching staff.

The day marks the start of an exciting Lisa Fiaola Cup campaign for Wests Tigers, with the club set to enter a team in both the metropolitan and regional competitions.

The metropolitan competition will start in March and consist of four rounds aligned with the Tarsha Gale Cup and Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership seasons, while the regional competition will take the form of a gala weekend in April.

Named after former Jillaroo Lisa Fiaola, the tournament was first established in 2018 to provide young girls with the first step on the pathway to further representative honours.

Several members of Wests Tigers 2022 Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership-winning side were on hand to help coach the girls, with Botille Vette-Welsh, Sophie Curtain and Bianca Bennetts all in attendance.

Jessica Bygate, who recently joined the Wests Tigers as Women’s Football Manager, says the Talent ID Day was a resounding success.

“The enthusiasm of the girls and our coaches was just electric,” said Bygate.

“It was a great turn-out and we had several first timers who hadn't played full contact league before, and none of the girls looked out of their depth.

It’s all part of developing the pipeline of female talent within our club.

Jess Bygate

Bygate knows a thing or two about elite talent development having represented New Zealand in Basketball at the Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal for the Tall Ferns. 

Wests Tigers Women's teams kick off their season this weekend with a double-header at Campbelltown on Saturday.

Our premiership-winning Harvey Norman Women's team plays Cronulla Sharks in a Grand Final rematch, before our Under 19s tackle Manly Sea Eagles.