'Sick love' for underdogs part of history-making tale for new rugby side

Helping build a town's debut women's squad, the Blayney Rams Rugby Union Football Club got around the launch of a first grade female 10s side to enter the Westfund South Cup for the 2024 season.

Part of the person heading up the inaugural team is Miss Profke, who moved to the Central West with her son after their Hawkesbury home went under from flooding in 2021.

"I grew up on acres, but when we moved into town, we lost our house completely, so we just did a cut and run after the whole house went under and felt like the change of scenery, too," she said.

"The first six months after moving here, I had no friends whatsoever, but I ended up buying a bed frame off one of the girls who played for Vipers and got roped into footy from there.

"Now, all my friends are basically all through footy, so for anyone moving to a new country town without knowing a single person, the sporting communities are where they'll be."

Moving to Blayney, the fitter and machinist apprentice signed on with Orange City Lions for the 2022 season.

It wasn't long until an ACL injury wiped the 27-year-old rookie from the paddock completely, but her busted knee didn't halt any new bonds or leave Miss Profke feeling out of the loop.

After her recovery, she stepped up to play league tag for the comeback Blayney Bears' league tag squad in 2023, with the resurrected side not winning a single game.

Since Saturday, April 13, she's now donning blue stripes for an all-new Blayney Rams' women's team,

"I think I've got a sick love of playing for the underdogs," she said and laughed.

"But I think there's something to be said for players on those teams and the club they're with, and I've really just picked my teams off of the vibe I get.

"At the end of the day, I like to still drink like we've won and hey, you've got to celebrate your losses somehow, too."

With season goals of more mates, having fun and learning safe footy, the Rams leader said anything else outside of those things will be a bonus.

Carving out a piece of history while they do it, the magnitude of stamping their place in time took some time to hit Miss Profke, despite reminding her peers of its special standing.

It wasn't until Blayney's club president - and both first grade sides' coach - Jordan Butler asked if the women could also put his younger daughter's name down for a new Rams hair scrunchie.

"You don't really think about the hugeness of something until you break it down and pull it back to the smaller stuff like that," she said.

"I've been reminding the girls of the history side of it, but I don't think it sunk in for me until then.

"We're just really lucky in Blayney, because we've got this tight-knit community where we've felt nothing but welcomed.

"No one said 'no' when I asked to put flyers in shops to grow our numbers or anything like that, we've just been solidly back by the town and the Rams men from the start."

With both the male and female squads sharing the same coach, each training session is one big team run at King George Oval.

Completing different drills and fitness circuits together, the Rams men and women have been operating as a united club.

"We were only in week three of preseason training at the end of January, early February, and the boys had already ordered our shirts for us," Miss Profke said.

"We wore old boys' jerseys for our trial match, but even seeing women in Rams colours was a bit of a surreal feeling for everyone, and I think that made it really important for everyone in our club to support each other.

"[The men] rocked up about halfway through that trial match and you could feel how everyone's spirits just lifted.

"They've just kept on backing us, and I think every club that has a women's and men's team needs to back each because it grows the community and adds to that good footy atmosphere."

Up against other 10s squads in their competition to include Boorowa, Grenfell, Harden, Temora, West Wyalong and Young, the year will be all about growth for the new Blayney Rams outfit.

Excited to showcase the side on Ladies Day for their first home game against the Grenfell Panthers, Miss Profke credited the other newly-formed women's squads in the region.

"I think we're all watching each other and cheering one another on from a distance, because we're all going through the same thing," she said.

"It doesn't matter what club you play for or what jersey you're wearing, everyone just wants to see the game grow.

"For us, this year will be a huge learning curve, and even though I was terrified to help start this, it's pushed me outside of my comfort zone and look at what we've got now.

"We're able to field a team and keep growing from here, so, bugger the rest."