The dedicated coach is currently working with clubs across the Western region to find the best under 16s talents who will take place in a new academy program.

While there is the very real prospect those talents may not have an actual representative competition to play in come 2021 - that hinges on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic - Skinner is determined to forge ahead.

She knows exposing the young talents within the region to an elite program now will better prepare them for the future when an opportunity to compete as Western Rams does arise.

"Before the end of the Western Women's [Rugby League season] we were only looking for under 18s and 19s development and an opens team, as we got told the under 17s wouldn't go ahead at all as it wasn't on the agenda," Skinner said.

"But then just before the grand final it was mentioned it could potentially go ahead. So then it was me thinking 'Well now there's the potential, let's just grab them.'

"We're just getting ready for that, we're looking ahead. It's more of an under 17s team potentially for the Lisa Fiaola Cup.

"We don't know if that comp is going ahead, it's all COVID related, so we're just trying to get our current 16s in an academy style program because eventually there will be a comp for 17s."

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The prospect of having a Western Ram team play in the Lisa Fioala Cup or another representative competition is exciting news for the region.

Skinner, who coaches the Western Rams women's side, has already seen the benefits of having a representative pathway for senior players.

She's seen players transition from club football, to Western Rams and then on to the NRL Women's Premiership.

On top of that, three editions of the Western Women's Rugby League competition have been held and since that inaugural season, the numbers have grown across the grades and more clubs have fielded teams.

"I had the privilege in 2018 to start doing academy style stuff, and in 2019 we held a holiday clinic in Bathurst so I was able to get a really good scope of brining them into a semi-elite program for a weekend and have a look at them," Skinner said.

"A lot of girls I had in that are now all playing Western women's, so to see their growth from 2019 to now, it's unbelievable.

"So this is about trying to get a base, for those under 16s who are turning 17 next year, giving them a path I guess.

"We want to be ready when it happens, when those games are set and it's an annual event we will already be 12 months ahead of it by having those girls in that academy style training once a month and doing what elite players do."

Having helped to coach the Castlereagh under 16s this season, Skinner got to witness many of the players who will form the new academy squad in action.

She points out that they are a new sort of player - ones who already have multiple seasons of experience to their credit rather than being first-timers.

It means their skill level and knowledge of the game will put them in better stead to push for higher representative honours.

That's why Skinner wants them to have a clear and established pathway to help them get there.

"The current under 16s started playing as under 14s, under 13s so the Western Women's competition is growing itself and we are getting a different type of player come through the ranks," she said.

"These 16-year-olds are the first example of that because they've been playing for a lot longer than a lot of the women playing in open teams. Imagine what they are going to be like when they are 19 or 18m, it's going to be a different type of footballer we are looking at.

"The talent that is coming through is just unbelievable.

"Potentially we can have a 17s, 19s, opens side at country champs, that's where it might head. So my job is to make that pathway very clear for a girl who is sitting in Bathurst or a girl in Bourke or Nyngan to be able to get there.

"I just want the opportunities that I didn't have for these girls, that's all it is. We just didn't have this when I was a kid. It's about growing the game."

The new academy program will start in April.