She starred in her first season of rugby union, but now Jacinta Windsor has claimed topped honours for her league tag club, being named Bathurst Panthers' best and fairest for 2021.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Windsor, who also plays rugby with Bathurst Bulldogs, made the transition from Panthers' under 18s team to the senior team ahead of the 2021 season and impressed enough to be awarded the senior league tag's best and fairest at the club's presentation on Friday night.
The 19-year-old centre said the award came as a surprise.
READ MORE:
"I wasn't expecting it, so it was super exciting," she said.
"That was my second season with Panthers, so I've been there since the start of 2020.
"I moved from under 18s to seniors at the start of the year, so it was a bit different playing with older people but it was a lot of fun.
"I felt like our best game was our last game, so if COVID-19 didn't cancel it, it would've been good to see how far we could've gone. Everyone had improved so much by the end of the season."
There was no surprise that Windsor found St Pat's as the biggest challenge in the step up to senior league tag, the blue and whites having won the last three completed seasons from 2017-2019.
"Obviously St Pat's were the hardest team but also learning to work with a lot more experienced players was a challenge too," she said.
"It was exciting and kept you on your toes."
Windsor is hoping she'll be playing for Panthers again in 2022, but it'll depend on how much league tag clashes with her rugby union commitments.
But before next season, Windsor is set to embrace a new challenge in the summer, having signed up with the Panorama Platypi, where a number of her Bulldogs teammates will be playing.
"I haven't played tackle league before, just union," she said.
"It's kinda exciting. A couple of the Bulldogs girls have gone over there to too, to try it out the summer comp. It should be fun and good to know a few people.
"I've been to a couple training sessions and there's a little bit of variation from the league tag but the union as well. There's lots of things to learn there but it's going to be a good challenge and it'll be fun."
This year was Windsor's first playing rugby, but her natural sporting ability and speed made her one of the most damaging wingers in the Ferguson Cup competition.
She was also part of the Central West open women's side which won the NSW Country Championship, while she also scored 15 tries for the premiership winning Bathurst Bulldogs.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News