TEA Gardens Hawks player and Karuah local Gemma Clarke has been heralded as the “Best and Fairest” in the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby League Ladies Tag C-Grade competition for 2025.
At a special presentation night held at Wallsend, Gemma was stunned to learn that she had won the award over dozens of other players in the C-Grade competition.
“I don’t feel like I deserve it, but I am both very honoured and very shocked,” Gemma told News Of The Area.
“We have a lot of talent on the Lady Hawks team.”
A country girl from Karuah, Gemma has been playing the game since she was in school, and although this season was league tag, she admits to preferring tackle footy.
She has also tried a few other sports, including netball, baseball and softball, but footy ended up being the one for her.
Off the field, Gemma enjoys a range of activities, from building farm fences to helping out her friends with their prized horses.
What drives her is a deeply ingrained philosophy that no-one can tell her what she cannot do.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I could not do something that the men around me could do, just because I am a girl, so it has become a philosophy of mine to prove them wrong – in life, work, sports, all of it.”
The 2025 Lady Hawks team started out as mostly strangers.
They spent much of the season getting used to each other’s strengths, chalking up a couple of gratifying wins along the way.
“Gemma started out as a fullback, but when I asked her to change positions she just said ‘whatever for the team’,” Lady Hawks coach Alex Sinclair said.
Throughout the rain-plagued 2025 season, it quickly became clear that Gemma has some definite talent, as every time she touched the ball she gained significant territory or brought momentum back to her team’s efforts.
Gemma scored three tries and 12 points last season, including the only two tries for the Lady Hawks in their win against Glendale.
She also joined several of her teammates in scoring tries at their big first win against Nelson Bay.
Kirsten Adam-Grant, one of the main sponsors at Myall Coast Realty, told NOTA, “Gemma is an outstanding part of the Lady Hawks, and an inspiration to all in the team.
“We are proud of the whole Lady Hawks team, their camaraderie and all played extremely well throughout the season.”
There was a special re-presentation of the NHRL award at the recent Tea Gardens Hawks presentation night, where Gemma’s efforts and talents were recognised with several other local awards, including Best in Defence, and Lady Hawks Player of the Year.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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