The Kempsey Saints women's football side will compete against some of the best players in the state at the 2019 TAFE NSW Women's State Cup in Newcastle this weekend.
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Saints received an invitation into the prestigious tournament after a successful application through a community nomination.
The Saints are one of four regional teams to receive $500 and free entry into the tournament from Northern NSW Football in an attempt to increase participation from rural areas. The club and major sponsor, the West Kempsey Hotel, also donated an additional $500 each to help pay for travel and accommodation expenses for the women's side.
Saints coach Amy O'Brien said the team is looking forward to taking on quality players and gaining valuable knowledge from the experience.
"The majority of our players haven't experienced football outside of the Women's Northern League competition," O'Brien told the Argus.
"We will be up against the best players from the state, there will be a few girls from W-League side the Newcastle Jets playing, and a lot of other quality players.
"Our players have never been exposed to that level of football and it will be a great opportunity to see them play and learn on the run."
While the Saints are focused on picking up the best results they can at the tournament, they understand they are facing an uphill battle and are also looking forward to the opportunity to bond as a team.
"We will be up against really tough teams who are probably at another level to us," O'Brien said.
"But it is a great opportunity to go away together and get a lot closer as a team.
"We will road trip down and back, have a team dinner organised for the Saturday night and we will be able to relax and have a bit of fun."
The tournament structure begins with each team divided into four pools of four teams.
Each side will play each other with the top two advancing to the knockout stages.
Kempsey has been included in a pool with the University of Newcastle, Thornton Redbacks and Merewether United.
O'Brien is hopeful the trip away will help the team build on their Women's Northern League season.
"Our season has been going well. We have been playing really good football but have just struggled to score at times," she said.
"We are great at holding possession and knocking the ball around but we haven't been able to capitalise up front.
"I am hoping this trip away will be a real bonding experience and we can come back and build on that for the rest of the season."
Saints are currently in fourth place on the Women's Northern League ladder.
Kempsey will play two games on Saturday and at least one game on Sunday, with the potential for more if they advance to the semi-finals.
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