What areas do you usually associate with the Sydney Roosters?
You may immediately think of places like Bondi, Moore Park and the surrounding Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
Those with intimate knowledge of our Junior Pathways may venture towards the Central Coast, where the Club's presence has been huge for a number of years.
Truth is, the footprint of the Roosters system reaches far beyond these heartland areas.
Just ask Blake Cavallaro – the Head of Sydney Roosters Pathways - who spent last week in the largely untapped Rugby League nursery existing in the Central West of New South Wales.
The camp, run last Wednesday in Orange, was an invitational session for females who'd been identified as talented players from across a number of regions in Western NSW.
Of the 30 girls invited, all 30 attended and were given a taste of the elite Sydney Roosters training environment.
"The day was all about the girls seeing how the Sydney Roosters and an elite program actually works," Cavallaro said.
"We focussed on up-skilling their fundamental attack and defensive skills, before moving to some video work the girls would experience at a Tarsha Gale and NRLW level.
"All this allowed the girls to get a good taste of an elite environment."
Focussing on a 14-18 year age bracket, the camp underlined the Club's commitment to providing a true pathway from local junior systems all the way through to NRLW level, no matter where the girls come from.
The biggest thing is seeing the girls and giving them more opportunities. That's what we are at the Sydney Roosters.
Blake Cavallaro Head of Sydney Roosters Pathways
For Cavallaro, the focus on this generation is a key step in setting the Roosters up for long-term success in the women's game.
"The reason why we picked that age group is to try and capture girls a little bit earlier," he said.
"The female game is growing and adapting so quickly, the skill level of girls this age is actually really high."
Attracted to the opportunity to train with the Roosters, invited girls travelled to the camp from as far away as Dubbo, with some others travelling 'leaps and bounds', according to Cavallaro.
Local media were also in attendance along with Deputy Mayor, Gerald Power.
Orange's size, as well as it's positioning in the Central West, were key reasons for it being chosen as the camp's location.
"There's 45,000 people who live there, it's a really big town in the western region," Cavallaro said.
"We have three of our Tarsha Girls (Rebecca Prestwidge, Page Lowe and Lily Bone) who are from the western region.
"It's right in the middle of Central NSW and we felt we could get a really good grasp of what the region has to offer.
"The biggest thing is seeing the girls and giving them more opportunities. That's what we are at the Sydney Roosters."
A number of the invited girls will be brought into the Roosters system, with an eye towards having them ready for Tarsha Gale football in 2024.
Among them were Georgie Barrett and Paige Bohringer, two exciting local products who’ve been impressive while training with the Club’s Tarsha Gale squad since the beginning of the 2023 pre-season.
Cavallaro confirmed this would not be the last we see of them in the Red, White and Blue.
"Georgie and Paige are new development recruits for us, and they were awesome on the day," he said.
"Georgie is a halfback from Orange and was actually the Western Player of the Year in the under 16s, and Paige is a really tough lock from Molong who made the Junior Sky Blues squad last year.
"The girls played together in the NSW Schools CCC team last year and we can't wait to have them at the Roosters."
What's already abundantly clear is this camp will not be the last of its kind.
Follow up camps, both in the city and country regions, are already in the works.
"We've identified talent in the western region, and this is how we show these girls the pathway to an elite environment," Cavallaro said.
"We'll continue to show these girls what we are at the Roosters, so we'll definitely be running another camp and watching more footy out there this year."
