Parramatta NRLW assistant coach Darrin Borthwick has been unveiled as the inaugural head coach of Canberra's women's team.
Borthwick was an assistant to Eels mentor Dean Widders on Parramatta's charge to the 2022 NRLW grand final and was previously on the staff of the Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors' women's teams.
For the past decade, Borthwick has worked with NSW Cup side Mounties, currently serving as head coach of their Women's Premiership team.
Mounties are the feeder club for the NRL's Canterbury but Borthwick said their previously affiliation with the Raiders put him in good stead ahead of his first assignment as a head coach in the nation's capital.
"I know the place really well. It's good to be back and just feels right," Borthwick said.
"I'm super excited to get in there and get to work.
"I'm really excited about getting out to the regional areas and finding the next big talent.
"We are in a position where we will have to recruit from outside but I guess if I'm using players outside of the Raiders in the women's space I'm looking for the next Isabelle Kelly or Jess Sergis."
The Raiders join the NRLW as part of the next wave of expansion that has also yielded women's teams for Cronulla, North Queensland and Wests Tigers.
With a total of 10 teams competing for the premiership, the 2023 season will be the longest since the NRLW's inception in 2018.
The NRL and Rugby League Players Association are currently brokering a collective bargaining agreement that will help determine the salary cap for the next NRLW season.
Once the CBA is in place, Canberra CEO Don Furner said the Raiders would mine the local area for talent ahead of their first season.
"It will be an exciting experience for young female talent in the greater region to know they don't have to move to Sydney to chase their opportunities and dreams," he said.
