Dirty Reds womens player Chloe Waddell has become a trailblazer for young female rugby union players.
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The Taralga local was a member of the ACT Brumbies Under 17s Sevens side which played in the National Youth Girls Sevens Championships in Queensland last month.
In doing so, she became Goulburn's first female junior to be selected for the Brumbies Sevens side, which did not surprise ACT Youth Sevens assistant coach and Dirty Reds women's coach, Ash Mewburn, in the least.
"She played extremely well and started in three games, which was fantastic for her and shows her ability and potential," Mewburn said.
"She trained hard, was training twice a week over in Canberra and played in the trial matches."
Chloe's selection in the squad, Mewburn said, is only the beginning for a youngster who possesses "raw talent".
"She's a national sprinter so she's got the speed, she's got good ball handling skills, she's from Taralga so she's as tough as a player can get," Mewburn said.
"Chloe might be small but she knows how to tackle hard and squat low. She never gives up and that showed at nationals, she persevered through some hard moments to get the team a victory. She's definitely a player to watch for the future."
Along with her pleasure at Chloe's success, Mewburn said it was also gratifying to see the pathway program starting to work for Goulburn's juniors.
"The youth are already coming through our pathways quite nicely into the seniors," she said.
"Chloe's tracking quite nicely and she's already been targeted for some programs next year with the Brumbies which is very exciting."
Chloe's berth at the championships was the second major representative opportunity the 17-year-old was given in 2019.
The first was a spot in the ACT All Schools sides, for which she was named alongside two Goulburn alumni: Emily Adam and Cassi Law.
Young players like these girls, Mewburn said, are positioning themselves not only for success as athletes, but as leaders.
"It's very satisfying just to see that we've got a strong network of youth players, they're coming through and tracking well and doing everything they're asked to do at training," she said.
"They're setting up to be not just good future players but good future leaders of teams."
Mewburn hopes the lessons on leadership and values they take away from representative programs will stick with the girls not only on the sporting fields, but in their day-to-day lives.
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