“There’s a storm coming”.
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Anne Hathaway definitely wasn’t talking about rugby league when she, playing Selina Kyle’s Catwoman, uttered that in Bruce Wayne’s ear in The Dark Knight Rises, but leading into this weekend’s Albury Thunder Women’s Nines Carnival the message couldn’t be more perfect.
That’s because a Jordan Dwyer-coached composite side branded the Central Storm – made up of stars from across the Western region – will land at Albury’s Greenfield Park for the annual tournament, one that has more than $9,000 worth of prizemoney up for grabs.
The Storm formed, Dwyer explained, as a way to provide players more opportunity to play the contact form of the game.
“There’s been some really good steps forward but there still isn’t enough so it’s about giving them more opportunity and exposure,” Dwyer said.
“The Storm, I’m not really sure where the name came from, we just wanted to give this side its own identity I guess and the girls have really bought into that, so hopefully it is something that lasts.
“It’s definitely a bit of a carnival side at the moment, it’s a tricky time to get players because with tag, tackle and rugby union, even netball, a lot of these girls have been going non-stop for the last 18 months or so.
"But we made sure to give them a break and we’ve had three weeks to prepare, they’re ready to rip in, so it’ll be interesting to see how we go.”
There’s every reason to suggest the side will challenge too, considering the calibre of player the Storm boasts.
Orange Hawks star Jacky Lyden and Bathurst Panthers gun Amy Hotham will co-captain the side, which also includes NSW Country Southern reps Ella J Harris and Bec Ford, along with the likes of Cheynoah Merchant, Millie Lenehan and Lilly Porch.
Claire Woolmington, Edwina Ulberg, Nicole Schneider and Ebony Fenton, known as much for their exploits in Central West Rugby Union’s Westfund Ferguson Cup as rugby league, will also turn out for the Storm.
The side is pitted against reigning champions Yenda All Stars, Albury Thunder 2, University of Canberra Grizzlies and Binalong in pool B of the opens competition, with Albury Thunder 1, Murray Cup, Canberra’s Valley Dragons, Wagga and Yass forming pool A.
“I think we’ll go well,” Dwyer said.
“Albury will be strong and Yenda won it last year, they’re mainly made up of Pacific Island players from down that way, but I don’t know much about the other sides.
“We’ve got a lot of skill in our side and we’re not small either. We’ve got quite a few younger players coming as well, someone like Milika Tuinakavaudra is someone I’m really looking forward to watching, I think she could really kick on.
“There’s more space in this format so we don't worry too much about structure, it’s more about winning games with your defence I think.
“We’ll try and stifle the other sides with our line-speed and focus on the extra efforts in defence to stop offloads, wrap the ball up, have plenty of aggression, all that kind of thing.”
The Storm have their final training session on Thursday night before heading to Albury on Friday afternoon, they face Yenda in their first game at 12.25pm on Saturday.
Dwyer made a point of thanking Orange Aboriginal Medical Service too, in his words “without them we wouldn’t be going anywhere”.
“They were happy to come on board and help out and we can’t thank them enough, we’re honoured to have their support. We do have a few Koori girls but it’s not (restricted to Indigenous players). We’re hoping the concept will be something they’ll be proud of, a team they’re proud to represent,” Dwyer said.
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