Round 1 preview: Kemp's special milestone to launch new season

For this match, Kemp will run out for her 100th game with the club - a special achievement for a player who has featured for the past nine seasons with the club.

“Makes me real proud for my family and my club,” Kemp said.

Signing up in 2014 after moving to the Gold Coast from New Zealand, Kemp has seen a lot of changes happen in women’s rugby league which have been reflected at the club.

“When I first moved here from New Zealand in 2013, and then I joined the next year, Burleigh was the only club on the Gold Coast who had a women’s team... otherwise, I would have had to travel to Brisbane to play,” Kemp said.

“I was just fortunate that they were the club near me. They had been going for two years when I joined.

“Since then, there has been heaps of change, especially where we train. We used to train at the junior fields on a softball pitch… it took three or four years before we got to the senior club, and the change of training as well... to have gym sessions before our field sessions, so heaps of change.”

While always a strong club, the overall support for the women’s team has grown in that time too, with the women finding new fans every time they play.  

“Especially when you play at home, the older guys that are part of the club and had only every supported the Cup team (in the past), they are more inclined to stay and watch us as well and they actually come up to the girls and acknowledge them,” Kemp said.

“That just shows how much they appreciate the women and how far the game is going and how far it can continue to go.

“I think it is awesome we have a new sponsor for the competition as well, and they have signed on for that long.”

Kemp – who was more into basketball and netball when she was younger before finding her talent for league – has also seen a lot of players come through the ranks during her time at Burleigh, including Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons five-eighth and last year’s grand final player of the match Zahara Temara, who she suspects will be the next player to reach 100 games with the club.

With a strong Harvey Norman Under 19 side representing the club as well, with many of those player pushing for spots in the senior team, Kemp said she was excited for the future.

“Zee, she shouldn’t be too far behind me. She was 17 when I joined, so she couldn’t play until she turned 17, which was towards the end of our season and she played the last three or four games,” Kemp said.

“She was a Nerang Rooster, so there are those pathways from the Gold Coast junior clubs to here.

“I am excited (about our future) because obviously we have a lot of rep players out for Round 1, but we have a lot of new girls who have come through and they have really improved.

“With the 19s, we had them last year, and when they came back this year, they sort of knew what to expect and what our standards are at Burleigh.

“I am excited for them, for the majority of them, it will be their first time playing in this competition … it will be cool to see them.

“And some of our girls (Tyler Birth and River Smalley) got injured early last year, but they are back and cleared and I am happy for them to suit up again.”

This weekend, the side will take on Wynnum Manly Seagulls, a new team in the competition this year and while they don’t have a lot of experience, Kemp knows to keep an eye out for their rising young players, with her niece part of their Under 19 squad which has seen some players push up into the team.

“My niece (Raven Tihema-Mako) plays for the Under 19 team there and they have had a very strong Under 19 team for a few years,” Kemp said.

“That’s good for them, they can stay and go up to the Wynnum women’s team now, instead of having to leave that core group that they have had for the past few years.”

However, the focus remains on playing well and striving to achieve a more premiership success.

“That’s always the aim to get those trophies, especially now it’s got a new sponsor for the competition, that would be cool to collect that one as well," Kemp said.

With new coach Scott Cooke at the helm this year and plenty of fresh faces looking to make their mark, opposition teams can be assured of a challenge every time they face off against Kemp and her Bears.

You can watch this the Bears take on Wynnum Manly via QPlus.tv and the QRL Facebook page.

Elsewhere in Round 1, there will be plenty of talent on show.

Marsden State High School will host the re-introduced Souths Logan Magpies as they take on young gun side Brisbane Tigers, who have been boosted this season by some exciting signings including Jamie-Lee Lewis who will start at lock.

The Central Queensland Capras will be at home to West Brisbane Panthers in what should be an evenly-match game between two talented sides. While like all the squads they are yet to see their NRLW players included, there is still plenty of experience in both sides to produce a great quality contest.

North Queensland Gold Stars travel to Piggabeen to take on Tweed Seagulls in the final match of the round. The weekend's only Sunday match will pit two teams looking to improve on last year's results, with the Gold Stars falling just short of the grand final and Tweed falling away at the end of the season after a disrupted campaign.

The Gold Stars welcome back a few familiar faces into their squad including former Queensland player Steph Mooka while the Seagulls also boast representative talent in Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons stalwart Rona Peters and All Stars player Leilee Phillips.

This year, you can sign up to watch all QRL statewide competition matches at QPlus.tv. This weekend, enjoy the QPlus launch offer of free access to all BMD Premiership Round 1 games.