When Kiara Maza runs on to the field at the start of a rugby league game, she's completely focused on protecting her "sisters" and getting the first tackle of the game.

The 23-year-old is a second rower with the Redfern All Blacks (RAB) and has been with the team for the past four years.

"The first few minutes before kick-off, you have to mentally prepare and be prepared to run at someone," she said.

"I get butterflies and a bit nauseous. I usually try and get the first hit and first tackle, then all my nerves are gone.

"It's just that first touch of the ball, and then your adrenaline is pumping and you just want to run."

Maza's passion and confidence on the field is a far cry from her early days in the sport, when she swapped the netball for the footy.

"I had tried once when I was five but I couldn't do it.," she said.

"At first playing it was a bit nerve wracking, but now I'll get in for the first hit or tackle."

Maza plays with the RAB women's team throughout the club season and also works for the South Sydney Rabbitohs as a mentor for Indigenous kids.

Uniting the community

This weekend, Maza will compete in the 46th NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout and is hoping her team will take the title for the second year in a row.

Also known as the Koori Knockout, the tournament brings Indigenous rugby league teams together from across New South Wales.

The Redfern All Blacks women's team won the Koori Knockout in 2015. ( Facebook: Redfern All Blacks RLFC )

The Redfern All Blacks men's team won the honour of hosting the Knockout after also winning the 2015 title.

This year it will be held at Leichhardt Oval over the October long weekend.

More than 100 teams will compete — ranging from the "nappy grade" with toddlers under five years old, to the senior teams with players aged over 17.

The Redfern All Blacks are Australia's oldest Aboriginal rugby league club. ( Supplied: Redfern All Blacks )

"It's football morning to night," Michelle Hamilton, RAB club secretary, said.

"It's about a real sense of community, family reunions happening, reconnecting, providing opportunities for the kids.

"They're all very passionate about where they come from; they play against their relatives so it's very competitive."

All players need to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, although Ms Hamilton said everyone was welcome to come along.

Ms Hamilton herself is a Waradjuri woman, while Maza comes from the Nanjara and Yamaidyi people.

Tackling for the sisterhood

Maza said there "was a sense of family" when playing Aboriginal rugby league.

"It's more like a sisterhood," she said when reflecting on the team.

"When I'm out there, I'm looking out for my sisters but I also don't want to let them down.

"We stand shoulder to shoulder ... There's no 'i' in team."

Ayla Kelly, a Dunghutti woman and hooker for the Waterloo Storms, agreed and said "it was the best feeling in the world" to play with other tribes.

Kelly has been playing rugby for about 10 years and will be leading a team of new players on to the field over the weekend.

Ayla Kelly wants to encourage more women to join rugby league teams. ( 702 ABC Sydney: Amanda Hoh )

The team have only been training together for the past four weeks and for many, it has been their first experience tackling someone to the ground.

"Run at them — the bigger they are, the harder they fall," Kelly advised her younger teammates.

More women on screen could tackle DV

Kelly believes a tournament like the Koori Knockout is not only beneficial for the health and fitness of the community, but offers an opportunity to recognise and celebrate Aboriginal women.

Waterloo Storm women's team training at Erskineville Oval. ( 702 ABC Sydney: Amanda Hoh )

She has a passion for the sport and for how it changed social perceptions of women.

"Women's rugby league is going to overtake men's at some stage," Kelly said.

"It would be good to have women fully tackling on TV.

"If we had NRL for women on TV like the men, I reckon it would stop a lot of violence against women and domestic violence, because I think men would get intimidated by women running at other women.

"My partner gets intimidated by me, because I'm not soft."