Sydney Women's coach Joey de Dassel says his players are ready to "put themselves forward" for higher honours ahead of their Buildcorp Australian Rugby Shield debut next week.
A former NSW Country Cockatoos coach, de Dassel is a strong advocate for the ARS and believes the inaugural Sydney outfit can make a splash against some of the nation's best in Newcastle.
Learn more about the 2025 Buildcorp Australian Rugby Shield.
While Sydney won't field any Super Rugby Women's players, de Dassel told rugby.com.au his side and hungry to prove themselves on the big stage.
"It's essentially a development squad made up of our top two divisions, so no Super W caps but lots of aspirational players from across the competition," de Dassel said.
"We've got some of the top players from Wildfires, Warringah, Sydney Uni, Randwick, Southern Districts and Easts plus a few from Briars and Campbelltown Harlequins.
"All these players are aspirational – they want to be professional rugby players at the end of the day and this comp is another opportunity to put themselves forward.
"The women's ARS is still a reasonably new concept but those NSW and Queensland Country teams are developing nicely and the Kestrels will have another strong team.
"The ARS is a great comp with a lot of eyes on it, and it's something a lot of these girls from Sydney haven't had the chance to do, so the opportunity to play some quality 15s against some really proud sides is exciting."
The inaugural Sydney Women's side is indeed a broad church, with players ranging from teenage school students to mothers pushing back towards the top level.
"It's mostly a young side - we've a few players still at school and there's a few of those doing their HSC the week after ARS," de Dassel said.
"But we've also got mums in their mid 30s and it's a great group.
"We had a whole lot of players nominate and did a trial game a few weeks back to pick our squad of 28.
"It's just great to see more 15s popping up and more opportunities for women to play. We're really looking forward to it."
Sydney Women tackle Queensland Country, NSW Country and South Australia during pool play.
SYDNEY WOMEN SQUAD: Angelica Littler, Annika Mountstephens, April Allende, Armani Bentley, Aroha Spillane, Bianca Bennetts, Caitlin Devenish, Charlotte Maslen, Chelsea Koomson, Darcy Blades, Drey Malieota, Emily Dietrich, Emily Sheather, Georgia Moore, Harriet Neville, Hollie Twidale, Jayda Patrick, Libby Holloway, Mercy Tuitupou, Poppy Mayhew, Renee Clarke, Ruby Colling, Ruby Flanders, Sherienne Koh, Supartie Van Heerde, Taylor Ropata, Vanessa Parker, Veronika Kosmider
