Young Leaders Taking Next Steps to NRLW Dream
Two of the Sydney Roosters’ leaders from the Tarsha Gale Cup side are now preparing to take the next steps in their careers as they begin training with the NRLW squad.
Tayla Montgomery and Iesha Duckett - the Tarsha Gale captain and co-captain who helped lead the side’s charge to the Grand Final in 2021 - have signed NRLW development contracts for the upcoming season with the promising pair rewarded for their strong performances in the Women’s Under 19s competition.
Montgomery, a Central Coast local who is in her third year in the Tarsha Gale Cup, is a familiar story to many in the Women’s game. After beginning her Rugby League journey playing in the under 6s, the absence of a direct pathway saw her take up oztag and touch football.
That was before an opportunity to be coached by her father as a teenager saw the talented halfback get the chance to wear the Red, White and Blue in the Lisa Fiola Cup - and has since led the Roosters with her organisation and kicking skills.
Duckett – a proud Indigenous and Māori woman with her heritage linking to the Gumbaingirr, Dunghutti, Bunjalung, Yuin, Kunja and Tuhoe tribes – is a La Perouse resident, having grown up in the Eastern Suburbs and similarly had to forego a clear pathway of playing Rugby League in her respective age groups.
Although that didn’t stop the hard-running lock forward from participating in carnivals such as the Koori Knockout and Ella Sevens. Duckett's persistence paid off, which saw her pull on the Tricolours alongside older sister Tymekqwa, training with the Tarsha Gale squad before even being eligible to play.
While the disappointment of losing the 2021 Tarsha Gale Cup Final has burned through the long and gruelling off-season, the pair are using it to fuel the desire of lifting the trophy in their final season in the Under 19s competition.
That’s what I’m aiming towards. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, play in the NRLW.
Tayla Montgomery Tarsha Gale Halfback
“Last year I learned at the end of the day it’s my journey, and I can’t let others dictate where I want to go. Hard work will get you to where you want to be,” said Duckett.
“I’m looking forward to this year. At training, I can feel the side really coming together already and getting the opportunity to train with the side at the highest level but also to be able to go back and take those lessons to the Tarsha Gale squad.
“It shows me the values that I need to have, where I need to be as a leader and what I can bring back to my team. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for my parents for pushing me to be my best."
“Losing that Grand Final - I’m someone who doesn’t like to lose - so it made me more excited for this year, knowing that we have another opportunity to win it,” Montgomery added.
“It definitely made me more motivated to train hard and to ensure that I can do my part to win that Grand Final this year. At the back end of last year in the Harvey Norman season, I was able to train with the side and got to be around some high-level players.
It shows me the values that I need to have, where I need to be as a leader and what I can bring back to my team.
Iesha Duckett Tarsha Gale Lock
“It has just been great to see the growth in the representative teams such as Country and State of Origin for girls in our age group.
“The camp away and the experience helps you grow so much more as a player and it was a very good opportunity. I was glad to be able to make both those teams.”
After strong respective seasons which saw Duckett selected for City and the 2022 Indigenous All Stars training squad, with Montgomery representing Country and feature in the Under 19s State of Origin winning side, the two have been training with the NRLW squad this off-season.
While the talented young leaders have both been awe-struck by their high-profile teammates, the pair say they have been impressed by the standards set – and are ready to rip in and bring their games to the next level.
“From the few training sessions that I have had with them, all the girls have been so welcoming. They include you and they’re always happy to answer questions and go to any one of them,” Montgomery explained.
“It’s such a step up from the age groups. It’s high-intensity all the time so you can see why they’re such good players.
“Training with the likes of Isabelle Kelly and Jess Sergis can be overwhelming, but especially in Issy’s case, I trained with her in the Harvey Norman side and she is more than happy to help any of us younger girls if we have any questions.
“It shows how hard she trains as well to be where she’s at. It’s surreal training with those types of girls.”
“This opportunity to train with the NRLW is so amazing,” Duckett beamed.
“I’m gobsmacked. Sometimes I just sit back and think ‘Oh my god’. You don’t realise that even though we idolise them, they’re human beings as well and they’re there to help you.
“It’s such a privilege. I love it and I’ll take the opportunity with two hands and run with it.”
Despite being earmarked as two players of the future, Duckett and Montgomery still have their eyes firmly set on their own individual growth as players and people.
While an NRLW debut fulfils the dream that has been formulated by blood, sweat, tears and good old fashioned hard work, the two are under no illusion that they will simply waltz into John Strange’s side come February 27.
After all, there’s still a Tarsha Gale Cup to bring home to Moore Park.
“Don’t get me wrong – I know there is a lot to work on, but for now I want to be the best that I can at Tarsha Gale level,” admitted Duckett.
“When I’m at training, I’m there to take in everything, learn, to do everything at my best because you never know – it could take one training session for a coach to give you a crack.
NRLW Preparations Ramp Up
“Even when I’m away from training I keep my pride high. No matter what I do away from the Roosters, it still impacts my football. When I play Rugby League I want to be a role model and inspire other Indigenous girls in my community to achieve at the highest level.
“I also want to keep an open mind about making my NRLW debut. If that opportunity comes up, well that’s what I’ve been dreaming of.”
“My main goal is to definitely take the Tarsha Gale side to the Grand Final and hopefully win that,” Montgomery stated.
“To make State of Origin and Country team again is on my list, to make every team that I can and improve myself as a player.
“To one day play in that team it would feel like everything I have worked towards has been achieved. There are so many things from there that you can achieve as well.
“That would probably be the best feeling in the world.”
