TWO separate injuries and a cancelled finals series means that 2022 can surely only get better for former Bathurst player Matilda Power.
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The former Bathurst Panther was one of the stars for Mounties in their NSWRL Women's Premiership when she was able to take to the field, which was sadly a rarity this year.
Power returned from meniscus surgery after the season's start and in a short space of time did enough to earn a start in May's City vs Country clash.
However, just a matter of weeks later the injury curse struck the five-eighth again when she broke her collarbone.
Saying Power has bad injury luck is an understatement, as she's suffered a pair of ACL injuries since 2016.
Power, who is expected to come back for another run with Mounties, hopes 2022 is the year that things can play out a bit more smoothly.
"I only ended up playing seven games because I broke my collarbone in the game against Roosters, which was our second last round game
"We had the bye after that match then they had a game against Wenty, which they won, but then it was all called off after that, so I didn't end up missing out of too much.
"It probably wasn't the year that I'd hope for because I missed the first half of the season as well. I started and ended it injured."
Mounties dropped just one of their 11 matches through the season to finish in second place, and that single defeat happened to be the game in which Power broke her collarbone.
Mounties were playing eventual minor premiers Roosters and had an 18-0 advantage before Power suffered her injury.
They would go on to lose the Roosters clash 22-20.
Power said her well drilled and in-form Mounties team was tracking well for a big performance in the grand final, had it been able to go ahead.
"It's a pretty great group to be playing with and they're talented across the board. We didn't really have any weaknesses I can't really fault any of them in how they played," she said.
"If they pushed the grand final back I would have actually come back and played it because it would have been eight weeks after surgery.
"I was training to come back for it, doing all the right rehab and got cleared, but then they called it off. I didn't miss out on the grand final, which was a good thing, but I didn't get to play that last game of the season."
The City vs Country clash was one big positive for Power in an otherwise rough season.
Getting the chance to learn from some of the game's legends is something she treasures.
"That was an unreal experience. I only ended up playing 15 minutes at the end and I went on as hooker, which is not usually my spot, but it was great to get on the field," she said.
"I did the best that I could out there and it was great experience. Being coached and mentored by Ruan Sims and Kezie Apps had me a bit starstruck, to be honest.
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