Bathurst Bulldogs prop Ebony Fenton expects a tough Ferguson Cup grand final

Last season the prop became just the third female player to have reached 50 senior games with Bulldogs, Fenton having first worn the blue and yellow in late 2017.

Though a broken finger meant she did not play on grand final day in 2017 when the Bulldogs upset Cowra, she's played in every decider since.

The only Bulldogs who can boast more experience for Bathurst on grand final day are Mel Waterford and Marita Shoulders.

Like Waterford and Shoulders, Fenton does her work in the forward pack.

She takes tough carries, she hits hard in defence and gets stuck in at the breakdown.

Fenton knows all about tough rugby and tough rugby is exactly what she expects this Saturday when she lines up for another Bulldogs grand final.

Her side faces a Dubbo Roolettes side that hasn't lost this year and is hungry to exact some revenge given Bulldogs denied them in the 2020 decider.

"If it's going to be anything like that last grand final against them is is going to be bloody tough," Fenton said.

"They keep telling us you can only beat teams like that once a year, so fingers crossed we do it in the only one that matters."

Given COVID prevented last year's finals series from going ahead, the last time a Ferguson Cup grand final was played was the 2020 edition in which the Bulldogs upset Dubbo.

Both line ups have changed since then, but there are familiar faces like Fenton too.

"I'm sure it plays on their minds," the prop said of the 2020 finale.

"That year we had Claudia [McLaren] and Mardi [Watts] and we obviously miss them heaps, but we do have the young ones coming through. We didn't have Jacinta Windsor last time, we didn't have Zoe and Mia Lee."

While Bulldogs had to play an extra game to qualify for the grand final after falling to Dubbo in the major semi-final, that doesn't trouble Fenton.

The way she sees it is that the preliminary final her side won against Forbes was one more opportunity Bulldogs have had to gel before the game that matters most.

"We've always had to work our way through. Yeah we always have a target on our heads because we've won all those premierships, but it's never been easy for us, never," she said.

"We come together really well at the end ... when finals come we're all yip and yahoo.

"We've just got to work hard, we've just got to keep showing up. Our chat has been heaps better."

Fenton knows that she and her fellow forwards will play a key role on Saturday at Ashwood Park.

The Bulldogs pack was impressive against the Roolettes in the major semi-final with their strong carries and good phase rugby earning plenty of metres.

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If they can do it again, it will give the chance for those players Fenton calls "the young whippets" to then showcase their skills.

Both those young whippets and the older Bulldogs in the engine room are just as hungry for success.

"We do have a very experienced forward pack and I think that will play a part," she said.

"Dubbo, they're good, their second rowers Savannah Dimmock and Jean Littlewood, they can single-handedly destroy you, but we've got the experience, that makes a difference.

"Even though we've been there before, no matter how many we've won before, this one matters."

Kick-off in Saturday's grand final at Ashwood Park is 11am.

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