The proposed Riverina 9’s is slated to kick off on October 27 in Temora before touring through Leeton, Albury, Darlington Point and Wagga.

The round robin tackle tournament would be comprised of six merged teams – Wagga Crows, Pacers, Highlanders, Western Roos, Irrigators, and Grain Crushers – all of whom collectively represent CRL registered clubs across Group Nine and Group 20.

A finals round is scheduled for December 1 in Junee, however, event coordinator and CRL regional administrator Dean Sutherland fears the project might not get off the ground. 

“Unless we see an increase in registrations, this event will be at risk of not going ahead,” Sutherland said.

“We need to get the message out there that this is going on and that we want girls to get involved.”

The women’s game has plenty of potential as evidenced by the success of the Albury Thunder women’s 9’s tournament and Sutherland is eager to provide pathways for younger players looking to develop their tackling skills.

“It’s just about trying to get a pathway going for these younger players,” Sutherland said.

“We’ve posted on social media trying to get more attention and we’ve already had some feedback, but we’d love to see more people register.”

Registrations close on Friday October 12 – click here for more information about the event.