Inaugural coach Jade Selby looks ahead to Tassie Tigers' WNCL final

In the early days, Jade Selby and his staff were tasked with building the foundations for the side to make a foray into state cricket.

Today's cricket is a world away from what it was during Selby's five-year tenure as Tasmanian Roar coach, which pre-dated the women's Big Bash and contracts, with players often having to take unpaid leave to play.

It was a different task as they spent time trying to find a competitive balance on-field while developing a talent pathway off it with the side undergoing a rebrand as the Roar became the Tigers to align with the men's program in 2018.

"The year after I finished up, probably a year or two years, one of the girls rang me up and said we're getting paid to play now, they were just in shock that was happening," he said.

"Until you're in it, you don't realise how difficult it is. The girls were taking a week off unpaid to leave to play ... while we'd treat it professionally we couldn't because there was still employment as a hindrance so [full-time contracts] has been magnificent.

"I was excited to be part of it at the time and to be the first coach is an honour and I am rapt that I've got that title."

While admitting that he doesn't feel a strong connection to the current WNCL set-up, the likes of Sasha Moloney remain in the squad from Selby's time in charge.

"She debuted in the last couple years I was there, I am rapt for her, she's done a great job and hopefully she goes really well [in the final]," he said.

"We didn't know what we were in for in a lot of ways, we had Julia Price and Mel Jones playing for us and they had great experience and passed it on. We were just trying to get good people in and we wanted to get Tasmanians in the team, that was the goal."

After the Tigers, the 43-year-old went back to his roots at Launceston where he also enjoyed success as a multiple premiership winner.

After his work to build the initial program, the Tigers stand on the brink of their first-ever WNCL title which they will contest at Bellerive on Sunday.

He hopes a potential first title could inspire the next generation of female Tasmanian cricketers.

"I was really proud of that effort, we played some really good cricket and we had girls getting recognised on the national stage so I think I left it in a really positive way and now they've made the final, which is brilliant," he said.

"I just hope ... it encourages more and more Tasmanian girls to put the pressure on and get selected."