NRLW player Georgia Page will be injected into the starting side and No.8 Shana Povey given a new role as Hunter Wildfires coach Joey de Dassel shuffles the deck for their crunch Jack Scott Cup clash with Gordon at National Park No.5 on Saturday.
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Page, who featured for the Newcastle Knights in the NRLW this year and has played Super W with Melbourne Rebels, has been a late but welcome addition to the Wildfires squad as they look to cement a place in the Sydney women's premier rugby union finals.
Hunter are fourth, on 17 points, with three games to play and seeking revenge against third-placed Gordon (20) after losing their first-round encounter 24-19.
Page made her first appearance for the Wildfires in a 5-5 draw against Western Sydney (15) two weeks ago and showed enough to warrant a start this weekend at inside centre.
"She reached out to us two or three weeks ago and she played against the Two Blues off the bench and did very well, so she's earned herself a starting position," de Dassel said.
"We're moving Shana Povey to five-eight, so that's a bit of a change for us this week. She's been one of our best performers in the forwards but has got a skill set that suits five-eight so we're looking to get some stability in our backline moving to the finals.
"Shana has previously played in the backs in sevens teams and we're confident she's got the skill set and game knowledge to play that position."
De Dassel wants a more disciplined performance against Gordon than in their previous encounter.
"Discipline let us down last time and we just went away from the stuff that was working - just doing the little things right," he said.
"We'll be looking to just stick to what we know and stay calm, especially if things don't go our way."
Hunter could seize third place with a win over Gordon in the only Jack Scott Cup match scheduled for this weekend. They then face second-placed Eastern Suburbs (23) before rounding out the regular season against last-placed Warringah (4).
"We'd like to win all of them so we can try to get second spot," de Dassel said.
The match has been moved from No.2 Sportsground and is set for kick off at 1pm.
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Renee Valentine
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
Renee Valentine is a sports journalist with more than 20 years of experience in Newcastle. She is passionate about increasing the visibility of sportswomen in the media. Got a sports story, email Renee at r.valentine@newcastleherald.com.au
