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She's been a first aider, supporter, manager, secretary, fundraiser, treasurer and a life member of the Tuggeranong Buffaloes. Now she's the face of the reconstituted Canberra Women's Rugby League and Women's Advisory committee.

But Yvette Croft's proudest achievement is being a mum. 

"Watching my kids play in terms of being able to watch them develop and grow and enjoy the game of rugby league," Croft said.

"That's probably my biggest achievement."

Croft's relatively new role as chair of the previously dormant CWRL has come about with a greater demand for a women's competition in the ACT. 

"Being able to help these young girls and see a lot of them come through the junior ranks and into the seniors is what I'm looking forward to," she said. 

Croft's position as a committee member means she is directly involved with the men's, junior and school competitions across the state. 

The growing phenomenon of female league tag – where Croft has overseen a growth of five teams to a whopping 11 in the nation's capital – has helped spark plenty of interest within rugby league too. 

"League tag has helped a lot with us this year because we now have a lot of our ladies wanting to now move into the tackle side of rugby league," Croft said.

"We're hoping to keep the league tag going as well for people like myself who aren't quite able to play tackle. 

"But it's important to keep these numbers coming through for ladies who are older or even those who are younger that don't want to quite play the tackle yet but at least can get a feel for it. 

"It's important for every lady who just wants to get out and play sport in general. They all want to be active and we're giving them an opportunity to do that."

Croft has been involved in rugby league for almost 20 years. 

It all began while she was studying massage at the Canberra Institute of Technology. 

Croft's 'sports trainer' elective meant she needed to undergo work experience and with her aunt already at the Buffaloes, Croft jumped on board. 

She hasn't looked back since and as a result was rewarded with life membership earlier this year.

Her massage studies haven't gone without reward either, as she remains involved with the Canberra Raiders.

"[Rugby league has] been able to give me friends and friendships, lifelong friendships at that. The whole social side of it has been awesome. The Buffaloes are a great community club and they're a great family club," Croft said. 

"That's really the reason I stuck around. It was like a family, the club was a second home for me. It was somewhere I could be comfortable at and just love.

"[My Life membership] was a huge honour. I'm so proud of that. It's the biggest thank you the Buffs can give me for everything."

This article first appeared on NRL.com

Acknowledgement of Country

Canberra Raiders respect and honour the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.