Moree Weebolla Bulls will this year field a women's rugby sevens side, adding to the growth of women's rugby union in the Central North zone.
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All but two clubs - Scone and Walcha - now have a women's side entered into this year's Central North competition, which will see the women able to follow their men's teams most weeks.
Moree Rugby Union Club president Paul King has taken on the role of coach of the Bulls women's team, and said while it has been a struggle to girls interested in playing rugby and to get a side started, it will only be a positive thing for the club.
"It's exciting," he said.
"It'll add a different dimension to the club.
"It's a learning curb for me as a coach too. These girls are starting with zero experience of contact sport. But the girls are really good to coach - they pay a lot of attention and they listen at training," he laughed.
"Most of them are starting from scratch."
Women's training begin earlier this year, not long after the men started, and King said there's a core group of about five women who regularly turn up.
The club is still on the hunt for more players to join the side and welcome anyone interested in giving the sport a go.
"Ideally you want 12 players," King said.
"Rugby sevens is a pretty high-paced game; you need subs.
"But we've got good building blocks, we've got girls who are really interested and talented."
The girls got their first run last month when they participated in the Inverell rugby sevens tournament, during which they won one match, drew one, and lost two.
King was impressed with their performance, considering they only had six players for the day and for most, it was their first time playing.
"For them to improve each game and come away with a draw and a win against some quality opposition, I was impressed," he said.
One of their players, Brianna Harborne, was selected to play for the Country Barbarians team at the recent Women's Sevens Country Championships in Armidale, having only played four games of rugby prior.
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Meanwhile, three Moree girls were also named in the Central North Barbarians side - picked by experienced Central North coach Dale Beattie - which competed against the Classic Wallaroos in Moree on March 23.
"We've got some talented players," King said.
"They've got real potential to do well this year and just to get it going.
"Where we finish is not the end game at this stage. The end game is to get more girls into the sport and playing."
The Moree side will have a tough start to the 2019 Central North competition during round one this Saturday, April 6 when they take on last year's premiers Inverell Highlanders in Inverell.
"They have a very strong team," King said.
"It'll be a tough game, but that's okay."
