![Rio gold medallist Gemma Noller, nee Etheridge, has joined the Inverell Highlanders' coaching ranks this season. File pic Rio gold medallist Gemma Noller, nee Etheridge, has joined the Inverell Highlanders' coaching ranks this season. File pic](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/T7RGn6Wqupu9DPpBgesVjF/602209b3-0fb8-4a66-8e91-806623337f05.jpg/r0_46_4176_2394_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
For any aspiring female rugby union players, the chance to learn from one of the sport's best would be a golden opportunity.
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And women in Inverell will now have that option with a member of the gold medal-winning 2016 Australian women's 7s team joining the Highlanders coaching ranks.
Gemma Noller, nee Etheridge, was part of the history-making team who took out gold at the Rio Olympics and the Highlanders have recruited her to inspire the next generation.
The Highlanders couldn't field a team for the 2022 season and president Ross Fuller is hoping they can pull it together for the 2023 Central North season.
"We were really disappointed to not put it together last year but there just didn't seem to be those players there," he said.
"I knew she [Noller] had come to town and we had been talking to her, we have had her down at the clubhouse a few times, talking about exactly this - how do we get the women up and going?
"It is very cool to have someone with an Olympic gold medal around."
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Noller was born in Armidale, raised in Coolah and her parents live at Yarrowitch, east of Walcha.
She grew up playing touch football and didn't play rugby union until four years before Rio, when she was seen by rugby scouts saw her playing a tournament against New Zealand.
For a lot of women making the transition to contact sport can be nerve-wracking.
But, having been through it herself, Noller is hoping to inspire a few more women to make the switch.
"I came over at a very late age to rugby so I am a good example that it is not just junior people we are trying to target, you can start learning how to do it when you're 25 to 30," she said.
Since Rio, Noller retired from playing, got married and had her two children.
![Former Aussie 7s player Gemma Noller in action. Photo: ARU Former Aussie 7s player Gemma Noller in action. Photo: ARU](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/T7RGn6Wqupu9DPpBgesVjF/b9546cf6-483b-4c5a-a651-f3b20fa87a6f.jpg/r0_0_4578_2574_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Her family moved to Inverell in October 2021 and she decided the time is right to give back to rugby union.
"I am excited to give girls an opportunity," she said.
"There was a few people who tried to get into the Aussie squad from out in this region but it was hard work for them.
"I am not a direct contact with rugby 7s but I still know people there so I feel like if I find someone that is worth it, I am not going to be afraid to say 'you should have a look at this player.'"
Noller said having young children might make it difficult to be a full-time coach but she will help out as much as she can.
"But the plan is for me to be heavily involved in the coaching and to get a team back up and running on the field," she said.
"I think the exciting part will be exciting to bring women's rugby back to Inverell."
Noller won't be making a return to the field after undergoing three knee reconstructions when she did play.
"I am not going to play myself, purely coaching and just developing a culture for the young girls so that they can come and play."
The Highlanders are having a come and try day on Thursday, February 9 from 5pm at Rugby Park.
They are also hosting their sponsors event on Friday, February 10. Bush poet, Murray Hartin, will be there to entertain the crowd as well as an auction event.
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