A finals place is up for grabs this weekend as Adam Butt takes his Brumbies Women side to Western Australia for the crunch Buildcorp Super W showdown with RugbyWA Women.
The fixture at Kingsway Reserve in Perth, the final regular season game of the year, will finalise which of these two sides will play in the Semi-Final play-off, and a likely trip to Brisbane to tackle Queensland Women for a spot in the Grand Final.
A narrow 12-0 loss to Queensland at Ballymore last weakened has raised hopes that the Brumbies Women can secure the coveted third place on the ladder and have the one-off shot for a ticket to the big dance.
Butt has made one change to the starting line-up that put in a gritty and gutsy defensive display in Queensland, restoring flying winger Biola Dawa into the starting XV in place of Darcy Read with Uni-Norths Owls’ Lanieta Yabaki in line for a debut from the replacements bench.
Also, likely to earn her first Brumbies Women’s Cap is replacement Emma Massi, who joins the finishers as Butt pays faith in the majority of the squad that have got the team into the position where a win, or a draw, will suffice for progress.
Australian International Shellie Milward will lead the Brumbies into action, as part of a pack that will look to lay down a true marker against the Western Australians, buoyed by the inclusion of three further Wallaroo internationals in front-rowers Violeta Tupuola and Louise Burrows and flanker Georgia O’Neill.
Leading try-scorer Tayla Stanford continues in the number eight role with the back-line hoping to spark into life in an attacking sense after spending large parts of the eighty minutes at Ballymore on the back-foot.
With Dawa and Brooke Gilroy providing ample pace out wide, the Brumbies will be aiming to get the ball to the flanks as quickly as possible to try and inflict damage on their hosts.
The match with RugbyWA kicks off at 5pm AEDT with the action being broadcast live on www.kayosports.com.au and www.rugby.com.au with a delayed broadcast on Fox Sports later that night.
TEAM
1. Violeta TUPUOLA
2. Louise BURROWS
3. Peta COX
4. Emily SOGAL
5. Shellie MILWARD (C)
6. Michaela LEONARD
7. Georgia O'NEILL
8. Tayla STANFORD
9. Remi WILTON
10. Carly HILL
11. Biola DAWA
12. Sammie WOOD
13. Michelle PERRY
14. Brooke GILROY
15. Rachel CROTHERS
REPLACEMENTS
16. Harriet ELLEMAN
17. Stefanie STEWART-JONES
18. Anna KOROVATA
19. Sammie MAXWELL
20. Emma MASSI
21. Jane GARRAWAY
22. Emily MCDONALD
23. Lanieta YAKABI
MATCH DETAILS
Sunday 24 March 2019
RugbyWA Women v Brumbies Women
(Kingsway Reserve, Perth, 17:00)
