Brothers leaguetag guns Gab Suckling and Bridget Horsley have been picked up by the Raiders after successfully trialling with the club last Sunday.

Suckling, 21, and Horsley, 18, will play three exhibition games with the Raiders to start with as NRL clubs look to expand into the booming world of women’s sport.

The Wagga ladies will travel to Canberra twice a week, at their own expense, for the next five weeks in preparation for the Raiders’ opening game against Cronulla on March 11.

With rugby sevens and AFL Women’s competitions currently thriving in the spotlight, the Brothers pair are delighted to now get the opportunity to play the sport they love at the highest level.

“We’re excited,” Suckling said.

“It’s good. It’s a big thing with the (rugby) sevens and now AFL coming through so to be apart of the first Raiders’ squad when rugby league is only starting is really exciting.

“It’s really good to be apart of it because I love league.”

Both Suckling and Horsley have dabbled with rugby sevens in recent years so the full contact style of nines rugby league has not been a complete shock to the system.

Horsley, a hooker, played juniors with the boys from under 6 to 11s, and played a one-off exhibition game in Orange in recent years.

The shift to full contact has been a little bit more confronting to Suckling, a fullback or half, as Horsley recalled with a laugh.

“Gab got winded the first time she got tackled at the trial,” Horsley said.

“I got blindsided as well. There were some big girls there.” 

Both ladies have been an integral part of Brothers domination of the Group Nine leaguetag competition since its creation in 2008. Suckling has already amassed 500 points.

With their next challenge now in front of them, both Suckling and Horsley are still pinching themselves that their time has arrived.

“Finally. It’s good,” Horsley said.