Amongst her Orange Hawks teammates, league tag speedster Lailee Phillips is affectionately known as ‘sniper’.
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The 2017 minor premiers will be hoping it’s Phillips who can fire the decisive shot in what has been a long rivalry with Sunday’s grand final opponents, Bathurst St Pat’s.
St Pat’s got the wood on Hawks early in 2017, winning the Western Challenge pre-season carnival at Canowindra in February.
Hawks then got the jump on their rivals, winning both regular season clashes on the road to an undefeated minor premiership.
But finals are a completely different beast, and St Pat’s bettered the two blues 20-10 in the major semi-final. earning early passage into the decider.
After Hawks bounced back with a 12-6 win against Panthers in the preliminary final to book the two sides’ fifth meeting of the season.
And it’s one Phillips can’t wait for.
“The team is looking forward to the grand final challenge this weekend,” the 18-year-old said.
“We have worked hard to get there and we are confident on our day that we can get the job done.”
Phillips labelled the St Pat’s side gunning for a third league tag crown since the competition started as the team to beat.
“Our biggest mistake would be to underestimate St Pat’s, who have proven over a few years now that they are the team to beat,” she said.
“They are a talented squad and well coached so it won’t be easy.”
But Hawks are far from easy-beats.
At home at Wade Park, the two blues have enjoyed a stunning record, one that was unblemished until St Pat’s remarkable major semi-final performance a fortnight ago.
Since then, skipper Bec Ford has won Group 10 league tag player of the year and the outfit is back to full strength with the return of Jacky Lyden.
Phillips believes her side is capable of taking home its first Group 10 league tag crown.
“We also have a lot of talented players and we will be doing everything we can to get the win,” Phillips added.
“Hawks are unpredictable and just play what’s in front of them,” Pat’s coach Mick Armstrong said. “With Ella-J [Harris] at dummy half and Bec Ford’s kicking game they’re very dangerous.”
- HAWKS: 1 Emily McDonald, 2 Lailee Phillips, 3 Erin Naden, 4 Kaitlyn Phillips, 5 Bridie McClure, 6 Rebecca Ford, 7 Drew Alexander, 8 Jacky Lyden, 9 Ella-J Harris, 10 Sheryll Selwood, 11 Sophie Humphris, 12 Amanda Livingstone, 14 Anna Matthews, 15 Tegan Dray.
- ST PAT’S: 1 Sarah Watterson, 2 Meredith Jones, 3 Candice Boggs, 4 Elise Woods, 5 Jess Scadding, 6 Karah Armstrong, 7 Mish Somers, 8 Nicole Schneider, 9 Riane Barton, 10 Amy Copping, 11 Emily Rhynehart, 12 Maddy Boyce, 13 Bronte Emmanuel, 14 Caitlin Reeves, 15 Kate Allen, 16 Jakiya Whitfield, 17 Emma Dillon.