Grace on the charge carrying three defenders with her.
A penalty goal after fulltime by teen Titan Lailani Montgomery enabled the Indigenous women to overcome the loss of star playmaker Kirra Dibb and snatch a 20-18 victory over the Māori Ferns.
Dibb was forced from the field in the 23rd minute with a leg injury and was unable to return, thrusting Titans rookie Montgomery from the bench to the halfback role and she stood tall to inspire an Indigenous comeback.
After laying on the only try of the second half for fellow teenager Ella Koster, Montogomery kicked a penalty goal six minutes before full-time to level the scores and then slotted the winner after the full-time siren. Both penalty goals were the result of successful captain’s challenges by Indigenous skipper Quincy Dodd as the game twisted and turned on big moments.
The Māori All Stars led 18-12 at halftime after hitting the front for the first time when Knights winger Lilli Ann White crossed just a minute before the interval.
The Indigenous All Stars had dominated the opening stages of the match, with right winger Monique Donovan scoring the first try in the eighth minute off a perfectly placed Kirra Dibb cross field kick. Titans and NSW Origin star Jamie Chapman stormed over to score in the left corner seven minutes later after a trademark 20 metre run and with Dibb converting both tries from out wide the Indigenous team led 12-0. However, Māori half-back Raecene McGregor showed why she is regarded as one of the best play-makers in the game as the Dragons captain took control of the match to inspire her team’s come-back.
Eels hooker Chanté Temara crashed over in the 19th minute after a McGregor grubber forced a goal line dropout and Titans forward Laikha Clarke levelled the scores when she charged over to score in the 26th minute.
With Dibb having left the field in the 23rd minute, momentum was clearly in favour of the Ferns and they snatched the lead when dual code superstar Tyla King put White over in the 29th minute. The game turned again after Māori and Cowboys forward Tiana Raftstrand-Smith was sin-binned for a 32nd minute hip drop tackle on Bobbi Law and Indigenous replacement Ella Koster scored three minutes later.
A successful captain’s challenge against the ruling of a loose carry by Essay Banu resulted in a penalty within kicking range and Montgomery levelled the scores. Montgomery had a field goal attempt charged down by Bulldogs recruit Ash Quinlan but after reviewing a captain’s challenge over a knock the bunker ruled that there had been dangerous contact with the kicker’s legs. The decision gave Montgomery the easiest of penalty goal attempts in front of the posts and she calmly slotted the kick to snatch back-to-back victories for the Indigenous All Stars against the Māori Ferns for the first time.
Graces’ Mum Kirsty told the Times, “She came off the bench. She was number 15. Grace enjoyed the lead-up to it as well. They had a week in camp. Jess Skinner is their coach and she has also just been named as coach for the Jillaroos.
“They were in Sydney in camp all week and they did lots of cultural events as well meeting the public, with sessions with Harvey Norman. They had a great community week leading up to the game. “They were the game before the men’s, so there was a big crowd.
“Grace got a few really good ball carries in there and lots of good tackles. She was really good with her tackling and her defensive play was really good. She got a couple of good runs.
“I was holding my breath that she would come out of it unscathed and with no injuries. I looked at my watch at one time and my heart rate was 115.
“It was a tough game. The Maori team were really strong. They had one of the ex-Raiders players Ketai Matua and a couple of Raiders girls, Chante Temara, so she was playing against some of her teammates.
“Grace is on tour this week for the Hogs Tour with Brad Fittler. She is picking up her new car today and heading off on the road tour for the week and then she starts in Blues camp, so she travels to Sydney three days a week for training in March and April, so she will be busy.
“Grace met Freddie when they were in Papua New Guinea and he gave her a call and asked her if she would join them on the tour here, which was nice. “Hopefully she gets selected as they have a Sydney game and a Newcastle game and then a Brisbane game.
“She’s looking really fit. It’s kind of the end of the season, but it leads into Blues training, so she has been training pretty solidly since last season. She hasn’t really stopped, which is testament to her. Grace is 23 turning 24 in June and continues to have a huge future in the game.
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