Steelers Tarsha Gale Cup U19 centre Darcy Eade has been an avid rugby league player since the age of nine. With her family genes, she was always destined to play the sport.
Eade’s father, Jason, played 12 games for the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1994, followed by two seasons for the Western Reds and a season for the now-defunct Paris Saint-Germain in the Super League.
“I played for the Picton Magpies with the boys until under 12s, and then I played in the Macarthur comp until I got asked to move down here to play for Corrimal,” Eade said.
“I was just brought up watching rugby league, around the footy culture with my whole family; my older brother also played.”
Cracking the code
There was moment, however, when Eade may have been lost to the game after dabbling in netball.
“I always had the option of playing footy or netball. I played netball for about two years and then thought I’d give footy a crack, and I never went back after that.”
After missing the first two games of the Tarsha Gale Cup season through injury, the 18-year-old started on the wing in round three, opening her try-scoring account with two tries against the North Sydney Bears.
“From the first week of pre-season, I was out through injury, so it was a bit tough getting back, but we’ve had a good season so far; we’ve got a really talented squad this year.”
Space invader
Shifting to the centres in round seven, Eade has enjoyed the extra room created by halves Kasey Reh and Olivia McGrath, scoring five tries in two games, including a hat-trick in Round 8 against the Panthers.
“Our halves are a year young. This is their first Tarsha Gale season, but I’ve known them through Oztag and Touch.
“I have always been familiar with them footy-wise, but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to play their centre or their wing, so it’s been great.”
“We’ve been working well as a team, and our ability to read a game, both mine and the halves, putting myself in available space on the field.”
Finals bound
After an undefeated run to the finals, Eade admits it’s hard not to start eyeing off the silverware.
“We came fourth last year, but our team has grown much better this year.
“We have so much more skill, so it will be interesting to see how far we can go this year.”
Continuing the journey
After spending two years in the Lisa Fiaola development squad, Eade hopes to continue in the club’s pathways system beyond the upcoming Tarsha Gale Cup Finals Series, her second season in the U19s.
“I’ve been involved in the junior reps since Lisa Fiaola all the way through with the Steelers.
“I’d like to make Harvey’s (the Steelers Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team) and see if I can further my footy in the rep scene.”
Read More>> Steelers Road To The Finals
