Botille Vette-Welsh will be doing her utmost to convince elite players Kezie Apps and Jess Sergis to sign up with the Wests Tigers for their inaugural NRLW season.
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NRLW sides won't begin making headway on their rosters until a new collective bargaining agreement is brokered between the NRL and RLPA but Vette-Welsh is expected to be an early signing for the Tigers.
The fullback currently works as a community engagement officer with the Tigers, is the captain of their NSW Women's Premiership side and has been singled out by incoming coach Brett Kimmorley as on his wishlist.
Sergis, Apps, Tayla Preston and Tess Staines all played for the Tigers in their grand final winning Women's Premiership side this year and, given NRLW contracts are mostly negotiated year-to-year, all could field offers for the 2023 season.
Both Apps and Sergis are past recipients of the Dally M Medal and Vette-Welsh is urging the Tigers to leverage their connection to the club and make a play for the elite pair.
"I'm sure there'll be a lot of coffees and a lot of sweet-talking to do to try and lock them in but it's in the works I hope," Vette-Welsh told AAP.
"I'm hoping that we can keep some of the bigger signings like Jess Sergis and Kezie Apps.
"Nothing is confirmed yet but I hope the Tigers will be the best fit for them."
Vette-Welsh said marquee players transitioning from the NSW Women's Premiership to the big-time would help forge a path through the Tigers system for others to follow and also ensure the club is competitive from day one of its NRLW history.
"Amongst our Harvey Norman (NSW Premiership) crew, we've definitely been having quite a few chats around how much more professional the NRLW is going to be compared to what we are," she said.
"We want to build such a culture that we're not just a club that people want to play with, but they want to stay on the team and go through the ranks.
"In the NRLW, you don't want to just be participants, you want to make your mark and you want to be competitive."
While contracted with Parramatta, Vette-Welsh suffered an ACL injury and missed the entire 2022 NRLW season but said the recovery process had given her perspective.
"This year was one of the biggest years we've had in the women's game," she said.
"To be injured at the start of this season was a massive kick in the guts.
"But it teaches you what else there is to life other than just footy.
"The community space that I'm working in now (at the Tigers) ... although it stinks to be injured, it's happened for the right reason because now I'm doing a job I really love."
Australian Associated Press
