NSW City hooker Rueben Cherrington says interstate rivalry will be on the line when her side takes on the Queensland Rubys in the under 19s grand final on Sunday.
NSW City advanced to the decider following a mammoth 40-0 win over last year’s champions, Queensland Sapphires, at the Harvey Norman National Championships.
Cherrington, who was part of the side’s corresponding loss to the Sapphires last year which bundled them out of finals contention, was looking forward to taking on new opponents in the Rubys.
With the under 19s women’s State of Origin match scheduled for June 23 at Leichhardt Oval, many of the players in the final will be vying for state selection with big performances.
“Losing last year we really wanted to make up for it and I think the scoreline reflected that,” Cherrington told NRL.com.
“I think we’ll see that rivalry come out with a bit of a State of Origin feeling on Sunday and we’re really looking forward to taking on another Queensland side.
“We’ve both got really strong sides and they’ve got some great players who offer a lot of strike around the park.”
Cherrington, who has signed a deal with the Parramatta Eels NRLW side, recently moved to back to Sydney after spending most of her teenage years in Perth.
She is the younger sister of NSW and Maori All Stars forward Kennedy Cherrington.
“It’s exciting to know that we’re paving the way and it’s good to see WA girls here playing well.
“It’s good to see they’re not falling through the cracks and that people are seeing there’s plenty of talent in the west.”
Meanwhile, NSW Country opens captain Brooke Carter was confident her side could remain undefeated and take out the title against defending champions Western Australia.
NSW Country are the newcomers in the opens division and have gone through the regular rounds of the tournament with five wins.
They’ll take on second-placed Western Australia, who scraped into the final on points differential with two wins on the final day of the tournament.
Carter, 27, is a playmaker from Newcastle who has taken advantage of NSW Country’s inclusion in the opens division, enabling her and her teammates an additional pathway at a top level.
“To come through undefeated is an awesome achievement. The pathways for women’s football now once again blows my mind to where it is
“Western Australia were a very tough opponent on Friday and will an extra 20 minutes tomorrow it will be a very tough grand final.
“They’re the champions so we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.”
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