There's no doubt former Orange Hawks back-rower Kaitlyn Phillips and her Prime Minister's XIII outfit will fight tooth-and-nail for a victory over their Fiji counterparts on Friday, but the trip is about far more than than a game of rugby league.
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Phillips has been named to make her debut in the second row, after she and her teammates joined the men's and Australian Defence Force outfits to help spread key messages to students of all ages surrounding social awareness, primarily around stopping violence against women and children in Fiji.
One of the women's stops was at Cuvu College where, as part of their preparations for Friday's clash at Suva's ANZ National Stadium, the team also ran clinics to assist in delivering rugby league skills to the high school's students.
An illuminating experience on and off the field, Phillips' PM's XIII call-up comes after a whirlwind year and a bumper season with Mounties, which ended in a heart-breaking Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership grand final loss to Newcastle.
She's one of several who will make their first international appearances on Friday afternoon, another is Burleigh-based 18-year-old Lakan Patai, who was still in shock after being called up so early in her burgeoning career.
"It's exciting, different, honestly it doesn't sound right (to say I'm debuting)," Patai told NRL.com.
"[The international scene] is a lot different to club (footy), the way that (head coach) Brad Donald talks, the way the girls respond and everything ... but at the end of the day we're here to play rugby league and it's still the same thing, basics, get them right, all the little things and hopefully it comes out in the game."
Phillips and her PM's XIII face their Fijian counterparts from 3.30pm (ADST) before the men's game from 6.30pm.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
