17/04/2023
Castlereagh League to launch the Jessica Skinner Cup
From humble beginnings as a player in the inaugural league tag competition played in the Castlereagh League in 2015 then to being a premiership winning coach in that same competition just two years later and now as the Assistant Coach to the Women’s Rugby League World Cup Champions Australian Jilleroos team and working fulltime with the National Rugby League as its Strategic Pathways Manager, Jessica Skinner has accomplished great things in a short period of time, whilst all the time calling Trangie home!
Jessica’s first involvement with the Castlereagh League was when she played with the Trangie Magpies in 2015, that being the first time that League Tag was played in the competition.
She began her coaching journey with the Castlereagh League Tag representative sides in 2015 to 2017, at the same time also being assistant coach with the Western Rams representative league tag side and in 2017 she coached the Warren Bulldogs team to a Castlereagh League league tag premiership.
That same year she became head coach of the Western Rams Women’s Rugby League representative side.
She has been heavily involved in the Far West Academy of Sport’s league tag and women’s rugby league programs as the head coach in both sports for a number of years and continues to hold those roles within that organisation.
Her coaching career has subsequently blossomed to include (but not being limited to) being assistant coach with the Newcastle Knights NRLW team in 2021, assistant coach with the Indigenous All Stars from 2021 to now and the assistant coach with the Australian World Cup Champions Jillaroos Rugby League side and being the head coach with the NRL Indigenous Women’s Academy.
When the Castlereagh League clubs voted to have a Boronia Cup equivalent (see below for information regarding the Boronia Cup) in its league tag competition there was some thought given as to what that Cup should be called and it was unanimously decided that apart from her outstanding achievements Jessica presented herself as an excellent role model for any female playing league tag or rugby league within the vast Castlereagh League area and that the Cup should be named the Jessica Skinner Challenge Cup.
Jessica will be on hand to present the Cup named in her honour to the winners of the Castlereagh league tag knockout to be played at Coonamble this Saturday and they will defend the Cup when they play their first home game during the 2023 season.
(The Boronia Cup has a long history stretching well back into the days of Group 14 Rugby League. It is a Challenge Cup that is played for during first grade competition games only (not during the finals) with the holder of the Cup defending it on their home ground, that is, to win the Cup a team must defeat the holder of the Cup on the Cup holder’s home ground.)
