Almost exactly eight years ago to the day, Jess Skinner was preparing for the inaugural Castlereagh League league tag competition as the player-coach at the Trangie Magpies.
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Fast-forward to now, and the 2023 season will kick-off with a cup named in Skinner's honour.
The past decade has brought about a huge amount of change for Skinner, who has gone from Trangie to a full-time employee at the NRL helping develop the next batch of not only female and Indigenous players, but also coaches.
The journey to the top of the game has featured a number of highlights - coaching the first Western Rams women's side and holding the position of Newcastle Knights and Australian women's assistant coach some of the biggest - and the naming of the Jess Skinner Challenge Cup is just the latest.
"Absolutely a surprise," Skinner said of the cup announcement.
"It's something I would never expect but I'm really humbled by it. It's where it all started for me in coaching so for all the other clubs in the Castlereagh region to put my name forward for it and support it, I'm humbled by it."
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Skinner, who still now calls Trangie home, now has her name on a new trophy in the Castlereagh competition.
Much like the Boronia Cup in the men's first grade competition, the Jess Skinner Challenge Cup will be on offer throughout the regular season.
The holder of the cup defends it at their own home ground but should they lose at home at any point, the trophy passes hands.
Skinner will be on hand at Coonamble on Saturday to present the trophy to the winners of the pre-season league tag knockout and that side will become the first to defend the cup this year.
Looking back at those days at Trangie and the Warren Bulldogs, where she also played and coached, Skinner said it is sometimes hard to believe how far she's come.
The respected coach was giving this interview from an airport at Darwin as she was up north to promote the RISE program and work with junior players and coaches in areas which don't regularly get access to top level rugby league minds.
"It feels like things are happening really quick but, at the same time, it's been a bit of a journey," she said.
"But to think we started that league tag comp and to see what it's grown into and how it supports bush footy, it's really cool to see it so strong."
Skinner is currently the Pathways Strategic Manager with the NRL and focuses on the Indigenous and women's game.
The All Stars and First Nations Gems are a huge part of that while the RISE Program gives an opportunity to girls and coaches who don't have access to the regular pathways and helps them learn from top coaches and play at a high level.
The new role comes after a stint with the Newcastle Knights in the NRLW while she was also assistant coach of the Australian Jillaroos side which won the World Cup last year.
At a more western level, her imprint on the Rams program remains today while she has also been heavily involved in the Far West Academy of Sport's league tag and women's rugby league programs.
"I'm absolutely enjoying it and at the moment I'm privileged enough to do it full-time," she said of her rugby league career.
As much as she travels around Australia and the world, Trangie and the western area is still home.
Despite her busy schedule, Skinner still found time to tune in on the weekend and watch each of the Western Rams women's side's matches at the country championships.
The Rams women won two of four matches in a successful campaign while the Western under 17s girls were also in action on the weekend won three-from-three at the Lisa Fiaola Cup and didn't concede a single point.
"It's crazy the amount of talent coming through," Skinner said.
"All that links back to the Western Women's Rugby League and everything the region is doing for the tackle game, in particular, and league tag plays a huge role in it too as it gets girls engaged in it and in our clubs and they've got the opportunity to transition into tackle, as well.
"I still fangirl over the Rams, I have to say, and once a Ram always a Ram."
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior sports journalist for Western NSW, covering all that's happening in in Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and everywhere in between. Contact me at nick.guthrie@acm.media
