EIGHT games - it was not the sort of season that Matilda Power had hoped for, but such is the talent of the Bathurst playmaker it was enough to lead her to the biggest moment in her rugby league career.
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Come this Sunday, Power will train as part of the 25-person New South Wales Sky Blue squad. It is from that squad the final 2022 State of Origin side will be selected.
On top of that, the training session will see Power work alongside the under 19s women's origin team, the men's Future Blues squad and NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler.
It was news Power had never imagined she would hear given meniscus surgery then a broken collarbone saw her play just seven club games in the NSWRL Women's Premiership this season.
"I got a call from my coach at work about four-five weeks ago. I was at work and I was pretty busy and couldn't really talk but he was like 'Oh I've just got this email through and you've been picked in this training group of 25', but he never actually said it was the origin squad," Power said.
"He didn't hype it up or anything like that and the email never got to me, it ended up going to my Dad. My Dad read the email and obviously knew before me, then when I got it at work and read it, I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the ground when I realised it was the actual origin squad.
"I still don't believe it really, but I'm pretty excited."
Aside from the limited club games she played this year, NSW Sky Blues coach Kylie Hilder would also have taken note of Power when she made her debut for NSW Country in May.
She came off the bench in that match and played 10 minutes at hooker - a role she'd not filled since her junior years.
Power had thought that representative match against NSW City would be her 2021 highlight, her selection in that side also being unexpected. But then came the email about the Sky Blues and the training camp.
"Getting picked for Country was a big shock to me and then, because I broke my collarbone, I obviously haven't played any football," she said.
"I wasn't expecting anything at all, I was just focussing on next year and just playing good at club level and hopefully getting picked up there, but it's come earlier than expected."
The camp will be run by Fittler and Hilder and include a joint breathing and yoga class plus positional training sessions. The Sky Blues will then begin to discuss their plans for the 2022 State of Origin against Queensland.
Power aims to absorb as much as possible, admitting she is not sure what lies ahead for her as a member of the 25-player squad. She's also proud to show Central West talents what can be achieved.
"I'm just going to take as much in as a I can and hopefully learn a lot more," she said. "I've never really been around that type of environment before and especially with all those girls as well, I've obviously played against most of them but never really had a conversation with a lot of them.
"It shows you just have to put in the hard work and it will eventually pay off, I know it's taken me a lot longer than it should of because of injuries, but it will pay off in the end."
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