Get the Panadol ready because Brad Donald is about to have some major selection headaches after the Jillaroos booked their spot in the World Cup final with a crushing 82-0 win over Papua New Guinea.
After sneaking past New Zealand in their final pool game, Australia clicked back into gear in ominous fashion to open up a 40-0 lead at the break with superstar centre Isabelle Kelly crossing three times in the opening 40 minutes.
Donald had the luxury of chopping and changing his players throughout the foggy night in York but the performance has provided him with more questions than answers with a couple of players demanding selection for the final.
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Emma Tonegato was used as a middle forward in the win over New Zealand but she returned to her preferred position at the back and was simply superb with a second-half hat-trick to go with her three try assists to claim player of the match honours.
“I’ve got to be selected in the team first,” the 2021 Dally M Medal winner replied when asked about the prospect of playing in the final at Old Trafford.
“We’ve got such an awesome squad of 24 here so I think anyone’s capable of getting the job done.”
It still might not be enough to snatch the fullback role off co-captain and Jillaroos legend Sam Bremner who started off the bench and came on at five-eighth where she set up a try to Roosters teammate Olivia Kernick with one of her first touches.
Millie Boyle shared the Dally M award with Tonegato and said in the coverage that she “needs to be the fullback” for the final.
“We’ve copped a bit of grief throughout the tournament over who’s played where,” Donald said.
“But we’ve had a plan right from the get go.
“The seven who didn’t play tonight will play (in the final), you can guarantee that.
“We might have to play two fullbacks and we might have to play two hookers and two halves. All the girls have been terrific.”
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HALF A CHANCE
Fullback isn’t the only position up for debate with Ali Brigginshaw switching from halfback and producing her best game of the World Cup in the middle of the field.
It’s a position she’s played in the past for the Broncos, and her ball-playing in the middle seemed to straighten the attack which looked disjointed against New Zealand.
Lauren Brown made the most of her switch to halfback where she set up several tries in the first half and unlocked their left edge which piled on the points all night long.
Tarryn Aiken is set to return at five-eighth for the final, but it’s a matter of whether Donald wants to run with her Broncos teammate or stick with Brown, who has to be in the team because of her goal-kicking.
KELLY’S DAMAGING DISPLAY
Isabelle Kelly is already one of the most destructive outside backs in the world, but it feels like destiny that she put in her best performance of the World Cup with everything on the line.
The Roosters skipper seems to get better as the stage gets bigger, and that trend continued on Tuesday morning (AEDT) when she broke her tournament drought to bag three tries in the first half.
It follows on from her 2017 World Cup where she scored doubles in both the semi-final and the decider, while she also crossed for the Roosters in both of their finals matches earlier in the year when they won the comp.
Kelly added a try assist to open the second half and formed a terrific combination with Evania Pelite who started on the wing and then shifted to the back row where she scored a try and set up two more.
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DEFENSIVE STAND
The Jillaroos will be pleased with their improved continuity in attack, but Donald will be in love with the fact they were able to keep their opponents scoreless for the third time in four matches.
The Aussies were far from their best against the Kiwi Ferns but they made a statement against the hapless Orchids who were camped inside their attacking 20 for five minutes but couldn’t breach the defensive line.
To make matters worse for PNG, Jillaroos speedster Jaime Chapman turned defence into attack with a 98-metre runaway try out of dummy-half to break their hearts and make it 76-0.
Just when it looked like the Orchids would score a late consolation try, Chapman came from the clouds to belt Shae Yvonne De La Cruz into touch with two minutes to play to show the hunger that has Australia primed for a third World Cup title.
“It’s bittersweet because we love the Orchids and what they’ve been able to do,” Donald said.
“The whole crowd would’ve loved to see them score, but we’ve got a team that’s really, really hungry for success.”
