The South Island youth development tournaments for boys and girls are heading to Oamaru for the first time, featuring teams from Southland, Otago, Canterbury, Aoraki and West Coast.
The girls tournament will be held at Centennial Park on Sunday, while the three-day boys tournament gets under way the following weekend, with both tournaments involving under-14, under-16 and under-18 grades.
Southern Zone rugby league general manager Liam Turner said it was the second year a stand-alone girls tournament had been held, with a massive uptake in the sport in the past months.
"The pathways and opportunities have definitely grown massively in the last 12 months for our women and this tournament will only just get bigger and better, really," Turner said.
Last year the Southern Zone selected its first under-16 and under-18 girls sides that competed at nationals following the tournament and the same would happen this year. Five players went on to be selected for national teams.
Former Kiwi Fern Nadine Conlon — a pioneer for the women’s game — who was recently appointed as the New Zealand Warriors’ NRLW academy manager with the aspiration of having an NRLW team in 2025, will be attending the tournament.
"She’s coming down, I suppose, to really look at the talent and identify some potential players, which is quite exciting."
Warriors, Bulldogs and NRL recruits will also be attending the "full on" boys tournament next weekend.
A South Island under-18 boys side to play the Canberra Raiders will be selected from the tournament.
Most teams were staying across the three secondary school hostels in Oamaru, and Turner looked forward to engaging with the community, giving it a "tournament hub feel".
"Just being able to give an awesome experience and opportunity for a lot of [players]. Especially in the girls tournament, there will be a lot of players giving rugby league a go for the first time."
