The third edition of the Katrina Fanning Cup has been heralded as the most skilful yet after 480 girls from schools across NSW played in the knockout competition on Thursday.
Thirty-two teams from eight primary schools and 20 high schools took part in the competition - formerly named the Female State Finals Day - at St Marys Leagues Stadium and the Kingsway Fields.
"You've got girls coming from all over the state - there were teams from the South Coast, North Coast and inland up against local western Sydney teams," NSWRL head of competition Yvette Downey told NRL.com.
Blairmont Public School won the under-12s title, with Hunter Sports High (14s), Warilla High (16s) and Ulladulla High (18s) also emerging victorious.
"The athleticism of the girls was amazing and the skill of the girls has grown," Downey said.
"This program that the NRL and NSWRL have merged together over the last three years has seen a definite growth in skill level of the players on display."
Downey said all games were played in fantastic spirit with plenty of smiles on display.
"There was positive commentary from the sidelines. There were no spectator incidents or anything like that," Downey said.
"It was very positive, very encouraging. It was just fun and great to see a heap of girls having a go."
For Downey, a particular highlight of the day was seeing Katrina Fanning's "overwhelmed" reaction to her name being attached to the tournament's branding.
Fanning was a pioneer of women's rugby league, having played in the first Jillaroos Test in 1995 and captained the country.
She remains heavily involved in the sport, chairing the ARL Indigenous Council and sitting on the Canberra Raiders board.
"It's quite unique for some of these players that have laid a platform for female rugby league [to have a competition named after them]," Downey said.
Katrina Fanning Cup finals results
- Under-12s: Blairmont Public School 30 def South Wagga Public School 14
- Under-14s: Hunter Sports High School 12 def Chifley College Dunheved Campus 0
- Under-16s: Warilla High School 16 def Hunter Sports High School 8
- Under-18s: Ulladulla High School 12 Bass High School 4
