Canberra Raiders appoint Darrin Borthwick as inaugural NRLW coach

They've already been linked with St George Illawarra second-rower Shaylee Bent as a marquee player.

It will be his third involvement in helping set up an NRLW team for their first season in the fledgling competition, but his first as the senior coach.

He said that taught him what worked and what hadn't.

Both his and the Raiders' previous links to the Mounties could see the two clubs reunite their partnership, with the Raiders' reserves potentially playing for the Mounties in the NSW Women's Premiership.

The Raiders were also looking at signing some ACT Brumbies Super W players, with their two seasons unlikely to overlap.

Plus they've already got a partnership with the University of Canberra to help their players get placements as students.

Borthwick was an assistant coach at NRLW grand finallists Parramatta this year, as well as being the Mounties' NSW Women's Premiership coach.

He was previously an assistant at the Sydney Roosters and the New Zealand Warriors.

Now he'll start the job of creating the Raiders' squad and, while he wouldn't divulge who he'd been talking to, he revealed he'd already fielded offers of interest from players wanting to come to Canberra.

Borthwick said he'd look to establish a good culture to enable the results to come - although he was under no illusions of how tough it would be.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner can start signing players from November 1, which will be the first time NRLW players will be able to sign multi-year deals.

"I've had girls reach out already. That's a good positive for this club is you've got girls who want to come down and join already. That excites me," Borthwick said.

"I've had a few conversations with girls who have had to leave this area to go and play NRLW and they're excited that I've touched base with them, and they're keen to get back down here and represent the green jersey.

"Talks are at initial stages and I'll leave Donny with some numbers and he'll go on with the chats from there."

Once he moves to Canberra and started his new role, Borthwick will visit Canberra's surrounding regions, like the Riverina, to find hidden gems.

"I start here in November and then it's head down, bum up, trying to get amongst the community and getting around doing some combines in the Riverina and country areas - trying to find the next Raider," he said.

"It gives the young 12-14-year-old girl out in those areas the opportunity and pathway to put on a green jersey, to play for the team they've supported or they've dreamt of playing for.

"That excites me that there's a genuine pathway now for that area for these girls to come in."

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The Raiders are working on re-establishing their relationship with the Mounties.

Previously, they were the Green Machine's feeder club for the NSW Cup before they entered their own side in the second-tier competition.

Now they're trying to establish a similar relationship with the Sydney-based team for their NRLW team.

Furner said one of the reasons they approached Borthwick was his extensive experience coaching women's rugby league.

From his discussions with other NRLW clubs, Furner felt it was essential to have someone who had plenty of experience in the women's game.

"We've always had a long-form association with the Mounties and that's how we got to know Darrin," Furner said.

"Certainly we'd be very keen to talk to Mounties about an association through their [NSW Women's Premiership] in due course."

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