Teenage trio selected in Tigers’ Lisa Fiola squad
BY ALEX TIGANI
Singleton Greyhounds’ juniors Lilly-Jane Williams, Tazma Upward and Jessica Borg have been selected in the Greater Northern Tigers’ Lisa Fiaola Cup squad to play in next month’s Country Championships.
Juniors from Scone, Denman and Muswellbrook have also been selected in this squad while it is important to note that Group 21 club Greta-Branxton is aligned under the Newcastle-Maitland Knights’ banner in this competition.
The extended squad of 25 were selected from 58 players from the Greater Northern Tigers catchment which includes the Group 21 area as well as Group 4 (Narrabri to Tamworth) and Group 19 (Moree to Armidale).
The final squad of 22 will play against the state’s best under-17 representative line-ups, similar to the boys’ Laurie Daley Cup (under-18) and Andrew Johns Cup (under-16) competitions, at Coffs Harbour from April 15-16.
The Singleton trio first joined forces when playing in the first Singleton girls’ hybrid team in 2021. Last year, they made it the preliminary final stage – a tremendous feat considering many of them had never played a contact sport until that point.
NRLW star Phoebe Desmond had helped the girls prepare for the trial as well as local talents Tiana West and Millie Graham.
All three have brushed off Singleton’s extreme heat this week when putting in the hard yards at training.
2023 Greater Northern Tigers’ Lisa Fiola Cup extended squad:
Brianna Allan, Jessica Borg, Hallie Daniels, Mackenzie Day, Lauren Daye, Summer Dowell, Ryelie Fletcher, Tomi Gavin, Sophie Greentree, Addie Hagan, Sophie Hedley, Rhianna Hunt, Tarnee Ingram, Ashley Loft, Leila Markham, Mia Montgomery, Mackenzi Nelson, Malaki Poa, Bonni Porter, Sarah Shankley, Jayda Simpson, Jordan Steel, Lilly-Jane Williams and Tazma Upward.