Claiming the club's top individual gong last season was no mean feat for the Milton Ulladulla Rugby League Club junior given the Steelers inaugural women's season saw the likes of Keeley Davis, Emma Tonegato, Kezie Apps, Taliah Fuimaono, Teagan Berry and Rachael Pearson don the scarlet and white.

It's unlikely the competition will ever see a side so stacked again, with 2024 seeing a shift to a July start date to run parallel with the NRLW season. It allows the state cups to act as feeder competitions to the NRLW, with last year's expansion season draining the depth of top-grade teams.

The big names saw high hopes for the Steelers last season, but the inaugural campaign ended at the grand final qualifier stage, leaving Rogan on a mission in returning to the club this season.

"It's unexpected, but it's a real honour," Rogan said.

"We're probably going in a bit blind not too sure what the comp's going to look like or how it's going to run. Obviously there'll be players changing between NRLW and reserve grade, so that will be interesting, but I think we laid a really good platform as the Steelers last season.

"We just want to build on that and hopefully win the premiership this time. I'm always looking to win everything, even if it's just a game at training, so I'm definitely coming into this season chasing that and making it clear to the girls that we're here to win a comp so they're all on the same page.

"We're here to get a job done so we'll have a really good preseason and bond with all the girls. It's obviously going to be a newer team, but it's really cool that the Steelers are still there and we can now play the reserve grade [to NRLW] role.

"I started in Lisa Fiaola Cup when it wasn't even a comp, it was just a one day tournament. It's really special that I started my football career with the Steelers and I can continue doing that as I get older."

The decision to shift the competition to a July start date will leave the game's elite female players without a game for nine months by the time they make it on the paddock, something the NSWRL has dubbed short-term pain for long-term gain.

Surprisingly not picked up by the Dragons last season, Rogan linked with the Roosters NRLW squad, a move that saw her rubbing shoulders with childhood idols Isabelle Kelly and Jess Sergis.

While it was a valuable experience, Rogan can see the benefits of streamlining the NRLW and state cup systems having spent months training without a game on the weekend with no parallel competition to go back to.

"I think it's really beneficial that they've made them run side by side because there was times during the [NRLW] season where I'd train really hard all week and prepare with the girls for a game on the weekend, and then the girls that didn't play would have nothing," Rogan said.

"We're working towards potentially getting on the field, so it'll be good if we're doing all that training and building up each week for a game that we can go out there and apply it to an actual game, not just training.

"But it was a great experience. I learned a lot on and off the field, how to get the most out of all the training sessions and making sure I'm properly fueled and recovered and stuff like that.

"It was really cool to have some of my idols like Izzy and Jess next to me on the field doing drills together. I was kind of starstruck sometimes, but I learned a lot and had a great experience."

New coach Jamie Szczerbanik says local product Rogan was a logical choice as skipper.

"She just leads by example the way that she conducts herself every day, not just at football," he said.

"At a young age she has achieved a lot, and she's going to achieve a lot more. She has a standard, she holds that standard and she expects everybody else to meet that standard as well. At the same time, she's very likeable and very approachable and I think the girls will really buy into that.

"Now that the competition aligns with the NRLW and it's an actual reserve grade competition, you're not going to have the big guns down week it, week out.

"It's invaluable to have someone like Lily who's been there and done it in the competition. You can't coach that, that's an experience thing.

"You have to experience it to know what's expected, so I'll be leaning on her a fair bit to get these girls up on a weekly basis and to hold standards."

The Steelers will sport a new-look jersey for a new-look competition with the Harrigan Motor Group coming on board as major front-of-jersey sponsor for 2024.

It's part of a mammoth commitment that includes naming rights for all the Illawarra Rugby League's senior competitions from Under 18s to first grade - including the Shield and second grade competitions. It will see the top-grade clubs vying for the renamed Harrigan Premiership crown.

Harrigans Motor Group Principal Wes Dawson said moving from the back to the front of the Steelers women's jersey was a no-brainer alongside naming rights deals for all senior IDRL competitions.

"A brand can't survive in a local community without the support of everybody in the community, and we don't deserve that support unless we give something back," Dawson said.

"From a personal standpoint for my family, my wife Renee and my three daughters, the one thing that we're super proud of is to be able to take pride of place on the Harvey Norman Women Women's Premiership side's jersey this year.

"I've got three daughters and and anything we can do to promote any women's sport for me is a big deal. Last year we looked at it and thought 'we're going to come on as supporters here, it's their inaugural year', this year we're just fans.

"We're big fans, they just did such a good job. It was just a natural fit, so now it just gets better and better for us."