Driving 100,000kms for a premiership dream. Is this Australia's most dedicated team?

The Advertiser

2 days ago

The lunch bell at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth on Thursday signals go-time for Emily Dietrich.
Dietrich trades her school books for a footy bag, makes sure the P-plates on her 2012 Toyota Rav 4 are secure and rattles down the Newell Highway for three hours to Newcastle for training with the Hunter Wildfires.
Sometimes, Regan Simpson from Barraba catches a ride and they pick up Scarlett Slade at Quirindi on the way.
This is just the tip of the extraordinary measures Hunter Wildfires women's players and coaches have undertaken for a shot at history.
The Wildfires will contest the Kerry Chikarovski Cup and Sydney Women's Rugby second division grand finals at Concord Oval on Saturday. They tackle favourites Warringah in the finale of Australia's premier club competition and Sydney University in the second-tier decider.
It's a historic moment for the club, even though players were forced to play on a "dog shit" back field in the semi-final last week to book their tickets to the big dance.
Dietrich's road trip with some of her teammates tells only part of what is a remarkable story of sacrifice and dedication for female athletes who have their eyes on a goal.
The team is littered with stories of personal challenges, hours on the road and giving up time with their own families to be part of a rugby family.
Coach Joey De Dassel, for example, would "hate to know" how many kilometres he has clocked travelling from Coffs Harbour for training and onto Sydney every second week for games. He usually makes a pit stop at Port Macquarie to collect assistant coach Shane Joyce.
They are often accompanied by Flanders sisters, Ruby and Poppi, Charlotte Ricketts and Aria Matthew, depending on the availability of the schoolgirls' parents.
Charlotte Maslen makes the journey from Gloucester, where her family operates a 3000-hectare dairy farm.
Emily Fear hits the highway from Scone.
Ruby Anderson, Maia Madden Khan and Emily Lufe zoom up the M1 from the Central Coast.
Captain Renee Clarke and Emily Sheather have shifted to Newcastle from the Mid North Coast.
Supartie Van Heerde, Hayley Glass, Jasmine Brooks have relocated from Melbourne.
Kenzie McEachern and Katie Salverda have lobbed from Canada. Elizabeth Shermer has traded an English summer for an Aussie winter.
Wildfires women's chair Nicola Roche opens her farmhouse to out-of-town players and their families on Friday nights. Others bunk at teammates' places on couches and mattresses on the floor.
Susannah Cooke and Vernonika Kosmider are first-year doctors and juggle night shifts in the emergency department at John Hunter Hospital with training.
They are among a core group of home-grown players from 15-year-old Emma McRae and 16-year-old Luca Stewart - the little sister of Wallaroos star Maya - to mother-of-two Marryann Tuisalega and other seasoned leaders Annika Jamieson, Anika Butler, Annabel Leighton and Emma Bradford.
Each has their own story. Each has made their own sacrifice.
It begs the question, why?
A love for the game, firstly. And opportunity.
De Dassel, 43, grew up in Yamba, went to university in Armidale and played in the Central North competition for 13 years, representing NSW Country.
A former NSW Police detective, he started working for NSW Rugby in 2021 and is now the mental health and wellbeing manager and Rugby For Good program manager for NSW Positive Rugby Foundation.
"I have a strong understanding of the rugby environments across those northern areas," De Dassel said. "There are some super-talented kids there. They don't get the level of competition that challenges them.
"They love the game. They have come and had a taste of it at the Wildfires and have decided to buy in."
De Dassel's commute alone for the season tops 50,000 kilometres.
"I make the eight-hour round trip to Newcastle each Tuesday," he said. "I do a bit of work in the area. I'm back down there on Thursday, and if I have work in Sydney, I'll schedule it for Friday. I will hang in Sydney and generally come back to Coffs after the game.
"I don't know how many kilometres I have done. I'd hate to look.
"I have to give a lot of credit to my wife, Amanda, and kids for allowing it to happen.
"I made the tough call about six weeks ago that this would be my last year. It was a really hard decision to make because I absolutely love it and we're going from strength to strength, building a really good program."
De Dassel's staff - Joyce, Corey Brown, Natasha McRae, Steve Barretto, Alex Sills and Shane Morgan - are equally passionate and dedicated.
"It was a clear goal of ours at the start of this year to have both teams in the grand final, and it's a reward for lots of things," De Dassel said. "It's a reward for the coaching staff who put in so many hours behind the scenes.
"It's a reward for the players who we've asked a lot of this year.
"It's a reward to the club and Stu [Pinkerton] and the board for backing us to have a second team and providing the resources around that.
"It's really been a team effort across players, coaches, administration, just a really whole club effort, and that goes for the men's and the colts coaches and players as well, who really support our women's program.
"It's nice to be able to get to the big dance, but it will be even nicer to get a win."
The Wildfires have operated a women's program since 2021, expanding it to two teams this season. They also have two senior men's grades and two under-20s men's teams that compete in Sydney.
"We have always regarded the women's teams equal to our men's," Wildfires general manager Stu Pinkerton said. "Joey is very passionate about the region. He regards the Wildfires as a legitimate pathway for girls in regional areas. Previously, they haven't had an elite-level competition to play in."
Dietrich and Maslen are two cases in point.
Central North zone does not have a women's 15-a-side competition, leaving Dietrich without a platform outside of school and age competitions.
"I did a little bit of Wildfires last year," said the fullback, who is sitting her trial HSC this week.
"Joey asked me to come back and have a bigger role in the team. I love it. The speed and the extra physicality ... it is super fun.
"For the first few weeks, my parents drove me down to training. Now, I leave home at about 1.30pm. I arrive in Newcastle with enough time to grab something to eat. My aunty lives in Singleton and I stay there overnight on the way home.
"I have learnt so much. The older girls have really taken us young ones under their wing.
"It is easily the funniest and most bonded team I have been in. It's awesome.
"I can definitely see a pathway for young girls."
Maslen's club, the Gloucester Cockies, which played in a 10-a-side competition in the Southern Mid North Coast zone, folded this season.
"I wanted to play at a higher level," the 23-year-old breakaway said. "I played for NSW Country and met Joey, who invited me to come down."
Maslen's "pretty big days" begin at 2am with the buzz of the alarm clock.
"I'm a fourth-generation dairy farmer," she said. "Work starts at 3am. We have 800 cows, which are milked twice a day. I'm on my feet all the time and average 60,000 steps a day. I finish work at 4pm, jump in the car and head to training. I get there by 6pm, finish training at 8pm, and get home by 11pm. Then it starts again."
Maslen's fiance, Ryan Yates, drives the 1-hour-and-40-minute trip each way to allow his partner to sleep.
"He is a darling," she said. "He played rugby but retired after a couple of knee reconstructions. He is living his rugby dream through me.
"I have gained so much. You learn lots from the coaches. Also, little things from side conversations with other players and competing against better players."
Jamieson, Tuisalega, Cooke, Butler, Leighton and Bradford were part of the foundation Wildfires side, which won the division two competition in 2021.
Jamieson said the level of professionalism and the status of the women's program had risen significantly.
"We did the preseason alongside the men," the experienced lock said. "We trained beside the boys for three months and were flogged.
"Everyone has ripped in. We train to three days a week. We do our post-game review and recovery at McDonald Jones Stadium. It is much more professional.
"Our strength and conditioning has been intense. We are so much fitter and faster, and work better under fatigue. We have it built into us. I'm 33, but my Whoop Band, which measures my health metrics, says I'm 22.
"As a whole, the team is humming.
"We have gelled super well on and off the field. We have spent a lot of Saturday nights together. Recovery is at the ocean baths on Sunday.
"It has clicked really well. By about round three, we realised we had some good things going on."
Anderson, who is in doubt for the grand final with a knee injury, is a Wallaroo, but missed selection for the World Cup.
Supartie Van Heerde and Shermer have represented the Netherlands, while Georgia Chapple, Kyah Little, Glass, Jamieson and Cooke have all played in the Super W competition.
"The next challenge for the program is to tap into the talent in the Hunter a bit more," De Dassel said. "There are some really good younger local girls coming through in Emma McRae and Luka Stewart.
"I'd love to see more Hunter girls file into the development squad and push for first grade. On the flip side to the regional girls, there are plenty of opportunities for players in the Hunter, with rugby league and other contact sports."
Home-grown Wallaroos stars Maya Stewart and Layne Morgan, who leave for the World Cup in England on Monday, moved to Sydney early in their careers for more opportunities.
Morgan's dad, Shane, is part of the coaching staff at the Wildfires.
"Dad is so excited, he can't wait for this weekend," said Morgan, who played a handful of games for the Wildfires in 2024 before moving to the Gold Coast.
"It has been awesome to see the growth and the number of girls getting involved with the Wildfires. To get into the grand final is unreal."
Dietrich and Maslen agreed that there was a pathway for girls from Newcastle and the surrounding regions to the top level.
For now, they are focused on Saturday and winning a premiership.
Warringah were minor premiers and are spearheaded by arguably Australia's GOAT female player Sharni Williams. The Rats also boast former Wallaroos Emily Robinson and Nicole Nathan, NSW halves Tatum Bird and Claudia Meltzer and ex-Wildfires Harriet Neville and Taj Heald.
The Wildfires finished fourth on the ladder and have beaten Sydney University Blue (29-8) and Manly (15-8) to book a date with Warringah.
"They are pretty stacked," Maslen said. "We have been the underdogs from the get-go. We keep proving people wrong. We have come so far. It will be the cherry on top when we come away with a win on Saturday."
The lunch bell at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth on Thursday signals go-time for Emily Dietrich.
Dietrich trades her school books for a footy bag, makes sure the P-plates on her 2012 Toyota Rav 4 are secure and rattles down the Newell Highway for three hours to Newcastle for training with the Hunter Wildfires.
Sometimes, Regan Simpson from Barraba catches a ride and they pick up Scarlett Slade at Quirindi on the way.
This is just the tip of the extraordinary measures Hunter Wildfires women's players and coaches have undertaken for a shot at history.
The Wildfires will contest the Kerry Chikarovski Cup and Sydney Women's Rugby second division grand finals at Concord Oval on Saturday. They tackle favourites Warringah in the finale of Australia's premier club competition and Sydney University in the second-tier decider.
It's a historic moment for the club, even though players were forced to play on a "dog shit" back field in the semi-final last week to book their tickets to the big dance.
Dietrich's road trip with some of her teammates tells only part of what is a remarkable story of sacrifice and dedication for female athletes who have their eyes on a goal.
The team is littered with stories of personal challenges, hours on the road and giving up time with their own families to be part of a rugby family.
Coach Joey De Dassel, for example, would "hate to know" how many kilometres he has clocked travelling from Coffs Harbour for training and onto Sydney every second week for games. He usually makes a pit stop at Port Macquarie to collect assistant coach Shane Joyce.
They are often accompanied by Flanders sisters, Ruby and Poppi, Charlotte Ricketts and Aria Matthew, depending on the availability of the schoolgirls' parents.
Charlotte Maslen makes the journey from Gloucester, where her family operates a 3000-hectare dairy farm.
Emily Fear hits the highway from Scone.
Ruby Anderson, Maia Madden Khan and Emily Lufe zoom up the M1 from the Central Coast.
Captain Renee Clarke and Emily Sheather have shifted to Newcastle from the Mid North Coast.
Supartie Van Heerde, Hayley Glass, Jasmine Brooks have relocated from Melbourne.
Kenzie McEachern and Katie Salverda have lobbed from Canada. Elizabeth Shermer has traded an English summer for an Aussie winter.
Wildfires women's chair Nicola Roche opens her farmhouse to out-of-town players and their families on Friday nights. Others bunk at teammates' places on couches and mattresses on the floor.
Susannah Cooke and Vernonika Kosmider are first-year doctors and juggle night shifts in the emergency department at John Hunter Hospital with training.
They are among a core group of home-grown players from 15-year-old Emma McRae and 16-year-old Luca Stewart - the little sister of Wallaroos star Maya - to mother-of-two Marryann Tuisalega and other seasoned leaders Annika Jamieson, Anika Butler, Annabel Leighton and Emma Bradford.
Each has their own story. Each has made their own sacrifice.
It begs the question, why?
A love for the game, firstly. And opportunity.
De Dassel, 43, grew up in Yamba, went to university in Armidale and played in the Central North competition for 13 years, representing NSW Country.
A former NSW Police detective, he started working for NSW Rugby in 2021 and is now the mental health and wellbeing manager and Rugby For Good program manager for NSW Positive Rugby Foundation.
"I have a strong understanding of the rugby environments across those northern areas," De Dassel said. "There are some super-talented kids there. They don't get the level of competition that challenges them.
"They love the game. They have come and had a taste of it at the Wildfires and have decided to buy in."
De Dassel's commute alone for the season tops 50,000 kilometres.
"I make the eight-hour round trip to Newcastle each Tuesday," he said. "I do a bit of work in the area. I'm back down there on Thursday, and if I have work in Sydney, I'll schedule it for Friday. I will hang in Sydney and generally come back to Coffs after the game.
"I don't know how many kilometres I have done. I'd hate to look.
"I have to give a lot of credit to my wife, Amanda, and kids for allowing it to happen.
"I made the tough call about six weeks ago that this would be my last year. It was a really hard decision to make because I absolutely love it and we're going from strength to strength, building a really good program."
De Dassel's staff - Joyce, Corey Brown, Natasha McRae, Steve Barretto, Alex Sills and Shane Morgan - are equally passionate and dedicated.
"It was a clear goal of ours at the start of this year to have both teams in the grand final, and it's a reward for lots of things," De Dassel said. "It's a reward for the coaching staff who put in so many hours behind the scenes.
"It's a reward for the players who we've asked a lot of this year.
"It's a reward to the club and Stu [Pinkerton] and the board for backing us to have a second team and providing the resources around that.
"It's really been a team effort across players, coaches, administration, just a really whole club effort, and that goes for the men's and the colts coaches and players as well, who really support our women's program.
"It's nice to be able to get to the big dance, but it will be even nicer to get a win."
The Wildfires have operated a women's program since 2021, expanding it to two teams this season. They also have two senior men's grades and two under-20s men's teams that compete in Sydney.
"We have always regarded the women's teams equal to our men's," Wildfires general manager Stu Pinkerton said. "Joey is very passionate about the region. He regards the Wildfires as a legitimate pathway for girls in regional areas. Previously, they haven't had an elite-level competition to play in."
Dietrich and Maslen are two cases in point.
Central North zone does not have a women's 15-a-side competition, leaving Dietrich without a platform outside of school and age competitions.
"I did a little bit of Wildfires last year," said the fullback, who is sitting her trial HSC this week.
"Joey asked me to come back and have a bigger role in the team. I love it. The speed and the extra physicality ... it is super fun.
"For the first few weeks, my parents drove me down to training. Now, I leave home at about 1.30pm. I arrive in Newcastle with enough time to grab something to eat. My aunty lives in Singleton and I stay there overnight on the way home.
"I have learnt so much. The older girls have really taken us young ones under their wing.
"It is easily the funniest and most bonded team I have been in. It's awesome.
"I can definitely see a pathway for young girls."
Maslen's club, the Gloucester Cockies, which played in a 10-a-side competition in the Southern Mid North Coast zone, folded this season.
"I wanted to play at a higher level," the 23-year-old breakaway said. "I played for NSW Country and met Joey, who invited me to come down."
Maslen's "pretty big days" begin at 2am with the buzz of the alarm clock.
"I'm a fourth-generation dairy farmer," she said. "Work starts at 3am. We have 800 cows, which are milked twice a day. I'm on my feet all the time and average 60,000 steps a day. I finish work at 4pm, jump in the car and head to training. I get there by 6pm, finish training at 8pm, and get home by 11pm. Then it starts again."
Maslen's fiance, Ryan Yates, drives the 1-hour-and-40-minute trip each way to allow his partner to sleep.
"He is a darling," she said. "He played rugby but retired after a couple of knee reconstructions. He is living his rugby dream through me.
"I have gained so much. You learn lots from the coaches. Also, little things from side conversations with other players and competing against better players."
Jamieson, Tuisalega, Cooke, Butler, Leighton and Bradford were part of the foundation Wildfires side, which won the division two competition in 2021.
Jamieson said the level of professionalism and the status of the women's program had risen significantly.
"We did the preseason alongside the men," the experienced lock said. "We trained beside the boys for three months and were flogged.
"Everyone has ripped in. We train to three days a week. We do our post-game review and recovery at McDonald Jones Stadium. It is much more professional.
"Our strength and conditioning has been intense. We are so much fitter and faster, and work better under fatigue. We have it built into us. I'm 33, but my Whoop Band, which measures my health metrics, says I'm 22.
"As a whole, the team is humming.
"We have gelled super well on and off the field. We have spent a lot of Saturday nights together. Recovery is at the ocean baths on Sunday.
"It has clicked really well. By about round three, we realised we had some good things going on."
Anderson, who is in doubt for the grand final with a knee injury, is a Wallaroo, but missed selection for the World Cup.
Supartie Van Heerde and Shermer have represented the Netherlands, while Georgia Chapple, Kyah Little, Glass, Jamieson and Cooke have all played in the Super W competition.
"The next challenge for the program is to tap into the talent in the Hunter a bit more," De Dassel said. "There are some really good younger local girls coming through in Emma McRae and Luka Stewart.
"I'd love to see more Hunter girls file into the development squad and push for first grade. On the flip side to the regional girls, there are plenty of opportunities for players in the Hunter, with rugby league and other contact sports."
Home-grown Wallaroos stars Maya Stewart and Layne Morgan, who leave for the World Cup in England on Monday, moved to Sydney early in their careers for more opportunities.
Morgan's dad, Shane, is part of the coaching staff at the Wildfires.
"Dad is so excited, he can't wait for this weekend," said Morgan, who played a handful of games for the Wildfires in 2024 before moving to the Gold Coast.
"It has been awesome to see the growth and the number of girls getting involved with the Wildfires. To get into the grand final is unreal."
Dietrich and Maslen agreed that there was a pathway for girls from Newcastle and the surrounding regions to the top level.
For now, they are focused on Saturday and winning a premiership.
Warringah were minor premiers and are spearheaded by arguably Australia's GOAT female player Sharni Williams. The Rats also boast former Wallaroos Emily Robinson and Nicole Nathan, NSW halves Tatum Bird and Claudia Meltzer and ex-Wildfires Harriet Neville and Taj Heald.
The Wildfires finished fourth on the ladder and have beaten Sydney University Blue (29-8) and Manly (15-8) to book a date with Warringah.
"They are pretty stacked," Maslen said. "We have been the underdogs from the get-go. We keep proving people wrong. We have come so far. It will be the cherry on top when we come away with a win on Saturday."
The lunch bell at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth on Thursday signals go-time for Emily Dietrich.
Dietrich trades her school books for a footy bag, makes sure the P-plates on her 2012 Toyota Rav 4 are secure and rattles down the Newell Highway for three hours to Newcastle for training with the Hunter Wildfires.
Sometimes, Regan Simpson from Barraba catches a ride and they pick up Scarlett Slade at Quirindi on the way.
This is just the tip of the extraordinary measures Hunter Wildfires women's players and coaches have undertaken for a shot at history.
The Wildfires will contest the Kerry Chikarovski Cup and Sydney Women's Rugby second division grand finals at Concord Oval on Saturday. They tackle favourites Warringah in the finale of Australia's premier club competition and Sydney University in the second-tier decider.
It's a historic moment for the club, even though players were forced to play on a "dog shit" back field in the semi-final last week to book their tickets to the big dance.
Dietrich's road trip with some of her teammates tells only part of what is a remarkable story of sacrifice and dedication for female athletes who have their eyes on a goal.
The team is littered with stories of personal challenges, hours on the road and giving up time with their own families to be part of a rugby family.
Coach Joey De Dassel, for example, would "hate to know" how many kilometres he has clocked travelling from Coffs Harbour for training and onto Sydney every second week for games. He usually makes a pit stop at Port Macquarie to collect assistant coach Shane Joyce.
They are often accompanied by Flanders sisters, Ruby and Poppi, Charlotte Ricketts and Aria Matthew, depending on the availability of the schoolgirls' parents.
Charlotte Maslen makes the journey from Gloucester, where her family operates a 3000-hectare dairy farm.
Emily Fear hits the highway from Scone.
Ruby Anderson, Maia Madden Khan and Emily Lufe zoom up the M1 from the Central Coast.
Captain Renee Clarke and Emily Sheather have shifted to Newcastle from the Mid North Coast.
Supartie Van Heerde, Hayley Glass, Jasmine Brooks have relocated from Melbourne.
Kenzie McEachern and Katie Salverda have lobbed from Canada. Elizabeth Shermer has traded an English summer for an Aussie winter.
Wildfires women's chair Nicola Roche opens her farmhouse to out-of-town players and their families on Friday nights. Others bunk at teammates' places on couches and mattresses on the floor.
Susannah Cooke and Vernonika Kosmider are first-year doctors and juggle night shifts in the emergency department at John Hunter Hospital with training.
They are among a core group of home-grown players from 15-year-old Emma McRae and 16-year-old Luca Stewart - the little sister of Wallaroos star Maya - to mother-of-two Marryann Tuisalega and other seasoned leaders Annika Jamieson, Anika Butler, Annabel Leighton and Emma Bradford.
Each has their own story. Each has made their own sacrifice.
It begs the question, why?
A love for the game, firstly. And opportunity.
De Dassel, 43, grew up in Yamba, went to university in Armidale and played in the Central North competition for 13 years, representing NSW Country.
A former NSW Police detective, he started working for NSW Rugby in 2021 and is now the mental health and wellbeing manager and Rugby For Good program manager for NSW Positive Rugby Foundation.
"I have a strong understanding of the rugby environments across those northern areas," De Dassel said. "There are some super-talented kids there. They don't get the level of competition that challenges them.
"They love the game. They have come and had a taste of it at the Wildfires and have decided to buy in."
De Dassel's commute alone for the season tops 50,000 kilometres.
"I make the eight-hour round trip to Newcastle each Tuesday," he said. "I do a bit of work in the area. I'm back down there on Thursday, and if I have work in Sydney, I'll schedule it for Friday. I will hang in Sydney and generally come back to Coffs after the game.
"I don't know how many kilometres I have done. I'd hate to look.
"I have to give a lot of credit to my wife, Amanda, and kids for allowing it to happen.
"I made the tough call about six weeks ago that this would be my last year. It was a really hard decision to make because I absolutely love it and we're going from strength to strength, building a really good program."
De Dassel's staff - Joyce, Corey Brown, Natasha McRae, Steve Barretto, Alex Sills and Shane Morgan - are equally passionate and dedicated.
"It was a clear goal of ours at the start of this year to have both teams in the grand final, and it's a reward for lots of things," De Dassel said. "It's a reward for the coaching staff who put in so many hours behind the scenes.
"It's a reward for the players who we've asked a lot of this year.
"It's a reward to the club and Stu [Pinkerton] and the board for backing us to have a second team and providing the resources around that.
"It's really been a team effort across players, coaches, administration, just a really whole club effort, and that goes for the men's and the colts coaches and players as well, who really support our women's program.
"It's nice to be able to get to the big dance, but it will be even nicer to get a win."
The Wildfires have operated a women's program since 2021, expanding it to two teams this season. They also have two senior men's grades and two under-20s men's teams that compete in Sydney.
"We have always regarded the women's teams equal to our men's," Wildfires general manager Stu Pinkerton said. "Joey is very passionate about the region. He regards the Wildfires as a legitimate pathway for girls in regional areas. Previously, they haven't had an elite-level competition to play in."
Dietrich and Maslen are two cases in point.
Central North zone does not have a women's 15-a-side competition, leaving Dietrich without a platform outside of school and age competitions.
"I did a little bit of Wildfires last year," said the fullback, who is sitting her trial HSC this week.
"Joey asked me to come back and have a bigger role in the team. I love it. The speed and the extra physicality ... it is super fun.
"For the first few weeks, my parents drove me down to training. Now, I leave home at about 1.30pm. I arrive in Newcastle with enough time to grab something to eat. My aunty lives in Singleton and I stay there overnight on the way home.
"I have learnt so much. The older girls have really taken us young ones under their wing.
"It is easily the funniest and most bonded team I have been in. It's awesome.
"I can definitely see a pathway for young girls."
Maslen's club, the Gloucester Cockies, which played in a 10-a-side competition in the Southern Mid North Coast zone, folded this season.
"I wanted to play at a higher level," the 23-year-old breakaway said. "I played for NSW Country and met Joey, who invited me to come down."
Maslen's "pretty big days" begin at 2am with the buzz of the alarm clock.
"I'm a fourth-generation dairy farmer," she said. "Work starts at 3am. We have 800 cows, which are milked twice a day. I'm on my feet all the time and average 60,000 steps a day. I finish work at 4pm, jump in the car and head to training. I get there by 6pm, finish training at 8pm, and get home by 11pm. Then it starts again."
Maslen's fiance, Ryan Yates, drives the 1-hour-and-40-minute trip each way to allow his partner to sleep.
"He is a darling," she said. "He played rugby but retired after a couple of knee reconstructions. He is living his rugby dream through me.
"I have gained so much. You learn lots from the coaches. Also, little things from side conversations with other players and competing against better players."
Jamieson, Tuisalega, Cooke, Butler, Leighton and Bradford were part of the foundation Wildfires side, which won the division two competition in 2021.
Jamieson said the level of professionalism and the status of the women's program had risen significantly.
"We did the preseason alongside the men," the experienced lock said. "We trained beside the boys for three months and were flogged.
"Everyone has ripped in. We train to three days a week. We do our post-game review and recovery at McDonald Jones Stadium. It is much more professional.
"Our strength and conditioning has been intense. We are so much fitter and faster, and work better under fatigue. We have it built into us. I'm 33, but my Whoop Band, which measures my health metrics, says I'm 22.
"As a whole, the team is humming.
"We have gelled super well on and off the field. We have spent a lot of Saturday nights together. Recovery is at the ocean baths on Sunday.
"It has clicked really well. By about round three, we realised we had some good things going on."
Anderson, who is in doubt for the grand final with a knee injury, is a Wallaroo, but missed selection for the World Cup.
Supartie Van Heerde and Shermer have represented the Netherlands, while Georgia Chapple, Kyah Little, Glass, Jamieson and Cooke have all played in the Super W competition.
"The next challenge for the program is to tap into the talent in the Hunter a bit more," De Dassel said. "There are some really good younger local girls coming through in Emma McRae and Luka Stewart.
"I'd love to see more Hunter girls file into the development squad and push for first grade. On the flip side to the regional girls, there are plenty of opportunities for players in the Hunter, with rugby league and other contact sports."
Home-grown Wallaroos stars Maya Stewart and Layne Morgan, who leave for the World Cup in England on Monday, moved to Sydney early in their careers for more opportunities.
Morgan's dad, Shane, is part of the coaching staff at the Wildfires.
"Dad is so excited, he can't wait for this weekend," said Morgan, who played a handful of games for the Wildfires in 2024 before moving to the Gold Coast.
"It has been awesome to see the growth and the number of girls getting involved with the Wildfires. To get into the grand final is unreal."
Dietrich and Maslen agreed that there was a pathway for girls from Newcastle and the surrounding regions to the top level.
For now, they are focused on Saturday and winning a premiership.
Warringah were minor premiers and are spearheaded by arguably Australia's GOAT female player Sharni Williams. The Rats also boast former Wallaroos Emily Robinson and Nicole Nathan, NSW halves Tatum Bird and Claudia Meltzer and ex-Wildfires Harriet Neville and Taj Heald.
The Wildfires finished fourth on the ladder and have beaten Sydney University Blue (29-8) and Manly (15-8) to book a date with Warringah.
"They are pretty stacked," Maslen said. "We have been the underdogs from the get-go. We keep proving people wrong. We have come so far. It will be the cherry on top when we come away with a win on Saturday."