New Bathurst Bulldog Poorsha Mcphillamy can't wait for showdown with Dubbo Kangaroos

While the 20-year-old has already made a name for herself as a soccer talent, this season she's expanded her repertoire.

First she tried rugby league for the first time and won a premiership with the Panorama Platypi, now she's joined Central West Rugby Union club the Bathurst Bulldogs to play in the Ferguson Cup.

"I played the league season then a few of the girls there play rugby as well and they asked me to come across," she said.

"I always loved it as a kid, I always wanted to play it and then I was like 'League is coming up, I may as well give it a try,' and it went from there.

"Union is a lot different to league, it's a bit confusing, I'm slowly getting my head around it. Just getting in around the ruck and all the different rules and the contact, it's like you're standing there going 'Can I do this? Can I not?'."

Though still figuring out the intricacies of the breakdown, contact is something that Mcphillamy is most certainly handling.

Each Saturday she has pulled off a string of crunching tackles, she's not afraid to try and drive over in the ruck, and when she has the ball in hand not only does she have speed, but she's hard to stop.

"I love it, I wasn't intimidated by it. As a kid I always wanted to play some kind of tackle sport, Mum was always the scared one, but now I've finally got into it," she said.

"I'm loving now, should've done it sooner.

"I love being in the forwards, I love where I'm playing now as an openside flanker. They keep putting me there so I'm getting my head around that position."

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One thing that did weigh on Mcphillamy's mind was joining a Bulldogs side which is a dominant force in the Ferguson Cup.

But she was soon put at ease.

"I found it intimidating because I was the new person and I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but they're so open to new people, they're so welcoming and help everyone out, that's just made it so much easier," she said.

"The club is really good, it's really supportive, it's literally like a family, that's how it works. Everyone is there to help and it just flows a lot better."

While the season is only five rounds old and one of those games was a forfeit win for the the Bulldogs, Mcphillamy is already well aware of the rivalries her new side has.

The side which has been Bulldogs' biggest rival over the past two seasons, Dubbo Kangaroos, is who they will play this Saturday.

When meeting in round two they drew 8-all, Bulldogs scoring at the death to split the points.

"I was kind of proving myself for that one, it was like, 'Yep I'm in for a hard one'," Mcphillamy said of that first match.

"Dubbo are really physical, they really know what they're doing so it made me learn a lot quicker. That they know what they're doing, it's really good to get around even though you're thrown in the deep end I guess."

Given this Saturday's clash will be in Dubbo and neither the Roos or Bulldogs have lost a match yet, Mcphillamy is expecting another physical clash. She can't wait.

"I froth that stuff," she said.

"It's pretty much go in hard and get the win."

As well as her new Saturday sporting activity, Mcphillamy is still playing soccer too.

On Sundays lines up for Eglinton in the Bathurst District Football women's premier league competition.

"As a kid I used to play a lot of soccer, I was playing two to three games every Sunday. So I've kind of got the fitness behind me I guess, I'm a bit sore on Monday, but hey, it's only work," she laughed.

"We're going pretty good, we're a solid second on the ladder, we've only lost to Pano [Panorama] this year."

Saturday's Ferguson Cup match in Dubbo kicks off at 11.40am.

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