KNIGHTS NRLW halfback Tahlulah Tillett hopes to inspire Indigenous kids across Australia when the proud Torres Strait Islander runs onto McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
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Born and raised in Cairns, Tillett's bloodlines run to Moa Island at the very top of Australia.
The island is almost as close to Papua New Guinea as it is to mainland Australia and has a population of, at last count, no more than 500.
Many of Tillett's relatives will be cheering her on from Moa Island when the Knights tackle the Parramatta Eels in the inaugural NRLW clash between the clubs. Others will tune in from Port Headland and her home town, Cairns.
Having watched the impact other Torres Strait Islander athletes can have - think basketballer Patty Mills - Tillett hopes the realisation of her rugby league dream will help others pursue their own ambitions, whatever they may be.
"There's a few athletes to come from the Torres Strait. Coming from up that way, it's such a remote community," Tillett, 23, told the Newcastle Herald.
"It's very inspiring and I think we all have one thing in common; and that is showing young aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids that there are these opportunities for us.
"I think that's important for them to know so they can go on to pursue things, whether it's even being an athlete or whatever else they want to be, just knowing that there are these opportunities now, particularly for females."
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Tillett, who debuted for the Indigenous All Stars earlier this month, comes from a "big rugby league family up north". Her dad was part of the North Queensland Cowboys foundation squad and her cousin Hagiga Mosby is playing NRLW with the Brisbane Broncos.
"Brought up" in rugby league, Tillett started playing with the Cairns Kangaroos aged nine.
Among a new wave of women benefiting from the NRLW's expansion, the playmaker is ready to seize the moment.
Even prior to reaching the elite level, Tillett has used her journey to inspire others.
"That's something I'm very big on, giving back to the community," Tillett said.
"Whenever I'm back home in Cairns, or even when I go up to the Torres Strait, I always like to run clinics and just give back, talk a bit about my story and my journey so I can hopefully inspire even just one of those young kids who want to become what they want to become."
Tillett returned from a couple of injury-plagued years to play with the North Queensland Gold Stars in the state competition last year and is one of seven Queenslanders at the Knights this season.
The girls spent six weeks living together in Newcastle last year before the NRLW season was postponed and Tillett said getting to know each other better during that period allowed them to hit the ground running when training resumed this year.
"Coming back down here in January everyone was buzzing ready to go. Despite what happened last year with it being postponed, I think that time we had together has benefited us," she said.
"When we first got here we were able to rip in and start training because everyone knew each other and knew what our roles were."
Former Gold Stars teammate and now Knights captain, Romy Teitzel, predicts Tillett will shine on debut.
"On and off the field she is a great person, a very humble athlete and a very kind girl, very giving," Teitzel said of her Newcastle housemate.
"She is going to have a standout year. She's had a few setbacks in her career but it's a great opportunity she's finally been given and she will take it with both hands."
Tillett said playing for the Indigenous All Stars had been a "childhood dream".
"I was fortunate enough to be able to carry out the Torres Strait Islander flag, so that was something that was very special for me. It is something I will remember for a very long time," she said.
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