Most of these girls have played just a handful of rugby league games after picking up the sport at school this year.
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But this Sunday they will have the chance to play in front of a crowd of thousands on the biggest day of the Newcastle Rugby League year.
The team from Dungog High School will tackle Cardiff High School in a 20-minute exhibition match before the first grade grand final featuring the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs and Western Suburbs Rosellas.
It will be an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Dungog players and coach Tim Francey said they would be in for a bit of a surprise around three o’clock on Sunday afternoon.
“I don’t think they know what they are in for with the size of the crowd or the magnitude of it,” Francey said.
“But it will be a great experience for them and exposure for girls’ rugby league.”
The squad, aged from 14 to 16 years, first came together in 2013 for a Hunter-wide tournament, which they won.
From there they played in an NRL-backed “Footy Fun Day” where they were beaten by Sunday’s opponents Cardiff.
Learney Blandford, Chelsea Greentree, Ebony Graham, Allira Taylor and Alyssa Pustolla were selected in a combined Hunter and Central Coast select side, which competed in Sydney where they beat Canberra, drew with Illawarra and lost to Western Suburbs.
