Representing your culture is special. But, doing it alongside your sister is something else.
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That's what 23-year-old Kaitlyn and 20-year-old Lailee Phillips will experience as the duo have been selected to play for the Indigenous All-Stars in against the Maoris at Townsville.
Kaitlyn's first taste of this fixture came in 2020 but for Lailee, it's a debut she's stoked about.
The siblings now reside at the Gold Coast where they play for Tweed Heads Seagulls in Queensland's top-flight women's competition but now, it's time to up the ante.
"It's literally my first big game," Lailee said.
"I'm very nervous but also very excited and really appreciative of the opportunity."
Lailee is set to come off the bench and play hooker, while Kaitlyn will don the number eight and play up front.
While she's not certain about how many minutes will be in store for her, the acting half knows what she wants to achieve when she gets onto the paddock.
"I want to be an impact player," Lailee said.
"I've done pretty well in all the fitness testing at Tweed so I want to be that person who goes on and shows a lot of energy when everyone's getting tired."
The match is obviously a huge part of the All-Star experience but for for Kaitlyn, she knows how crucial the lead-up is for the community.
"The whole week is just so fun," Kaitlyn said.
"It's the best football camp I've ever been to. Everyone just has that mutual understanding of how much it means.
"Football is just a small part of it... the whole week is community work and I'm really excited for it," Lailee added.
Lailee had the pleasure of watching her big sister make her NRL women's debut last winter and one day, she'd love to follow suit.
"One day my goal is to make it there," Lailee said.
"I just want to get better at reading the game for now. As a hooker, I want to be perfect my pass and focus on more than just the fitness side of thing.
"Game management is important for me as well... I just want to learn the role."
As for Kaitlyn, she's had a bit of experience in the front row and while she admittedly loves the physicality of the position, wants to work on the endurance side of the game.
"Fitness as well as speed and strength," Kaitlyn said.
"We've been training three nights a week with Tweed since before Christmas so we haven't had much of a break."
An exciting element for the sisters is that they'll have the chance to reunite with assistant coach Jess Skinner who worked with them for a large part of their junior representative careers.
"For us, that's kind of where it all started," Kaitlyn said.
"She was our first representative coach for Western."
The women's clash will raise the curtains for the men's clash on February 20.
Jack Wighton has unsurprisingly been selected for the men's side after the Lucknow boy claimed the Dally M Medal in the wake of the 2020 season.
The only thing that was somewhat surprised about the announcement is that the 27-year-old will play in the centres with Cody Walker and Jamal Fogarty to combine in the halves. Wighton will still play five-eighth at club level.
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