Macleay Valley Mustangs women's team struggling to attract players ahead of 2023 season opener

Now, they barely have enough players to field a team for the upcoming 2023 season.

"The pre-season hasn't really started for the women's team because we haven't had enough players turn up to training," Macleay Valley Mustangs president Reuben Jones said.

"We are slowly getting a few more people registered, but we definitely need more players before the start of the season.

The North Coast Women's Rugby League season will kick off in Kempsey on April 22.

Jones confirmed that at least 14 players have registered but acknowledged it won't be enough to field a team for the entire season.

"Last time I checked there were about 14 players registered which is barely enough to take the field," he said.

"It's a long season for the ladies if there's only one or two reserves in a game... it only takes one or two players to be injured before the team starts to fall apart.

"If we don't improve our numbers then we won't have a women's team this season which is a bit unfortunate since we won the premiership last year."

Jones said he doesn't know what's caused the decline in numbers.

"I can't really pinpoint anything," he said. "I thought that with last year being so successful, we would come back even stronger but that doesn't appear to be the case.

"A few of the senior players have pulled out due to work commitments, and I can only assume it's made everyone a bit uneasy to join.

"We're holding out hope that we will get enough players, but we need more people to turn up to training and register."

In another set-back, the team will also be without their influential captain-coach Simone Smith, who led the team to their first premiership in 2022.

Jones confirmed that the club has yet to find a replacement.

"Simone couldn't sign on again this year as coach because of her work commitments," he said. "At the moment [finding a new coach] hasn't really mattered because we're training together as a whole club."

The North Coast Women's Rugby League competition has seen a growth in numbers since its conception in 2022 with seven teams set to compete this season.

Jones said he would be "disappointed" if the team had to withdraw from the 2023 season.

"The Macleay Valley has been pushing pretty hard for a women's rugby league competition for a number of years now, and it would be disappointing to say the least if we don't have a team in its second season," he said.

"I think the competition is looking very promising in the Mid North Coast, so we really need to keep this team alive in the Macleay Valley because there's a lot of young girls who want to play rugby league and it will be pretty disappointing if we don't have a team for them anymore."

As the season nears, Jones said he's "still holding out hope" that more people will sign up.

"The women's competition kicks off in two weeks, so we're really hoping to have a few things finalised this week," he said.

"There is a small group of women who have been turning up to training and are committed but we just need to add to it."

Despite the low numbers, Jones said he's optimistic the team can persevere this season.

"I'm very disappointed in the numbers, but I am also optimistic that the team can go ahead this season," he said.

The Macleay Valley Mustangs Club trains at Verge Street Oval every Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm.

Jones said he's hoping to see more women turn up to training and register before the season starts.

"If we add a few more players then I think we can still be very competitive, but the players who have already registered can't do it by themselves," he said.

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