Having given up playing to concentrate on coaching, Donald has progressed from his time as a Bathurst Panthers junior mentor to now steer to Australian women’s team.

As Donald formulated a plan for how his Jillaroos would beat New Zealand’s Kiwi Ferns in the ANZAC Test on Friday night in Canberra, he opted for a bold move.

Instead of going for the proven halves combination of Maddie Studdon and Allie Brigginshaw, Donald opted to use the rookie pairing of Simone Smith and Zahara Temara.

It was a decision that paid off as the new duo shone, helping the Jillaroos to a 16-4 win over their fierce rivals.

That win came on the back of the success Donald found with the Jillaroos at the Auckland Nines. It is a good sign given Australia and New Zealand will be two of the favourites for the Women’s Rugby League World Cup later this year.

"We've spoken about that all week – to have two rookie halves, we wanted to show faith in those two and we also wanted to show faith in the two incumbents," Donald told NRL.com.

"All of them participated and they're going to push each other all the way to the World Cup, so it's an exciting time for the Jillaroos.

"Maddie and Allie, they had to deal with a bit of disappointment not getting chosen in the original team.

"What they did all week was supported those two girls and helped them guide the girls around the paddock and that's what we want to create in these girls, we want to create a squad of 30 or 40.”

Smith and Temara were not the only rookies that Donald, a Group 10 Junior Rugby League premiership winning coach, used on Friday night. Winger Isabelle Kelly made her debut after fullback Sam Bremner suffered a head knock on Thursday.

"It was gutting for her [Bremner] and gutting for the team but one of the things we know is we had a superstar in the making ready to come on and she proved that," Donald said.