CAITLAN Johnston sat in a scaffold grandstand alongside her cousins, eyes wide open, riding every hit, every fend. Footwork. Ball skills. Offloads. Rugby league at its rawest.
Johnston was 13 when she first played in the Koori Knockout.
"Once you turned 13, you couldn't play rugby league unless in a junior girls' competition, which there were none," the Knights prop explained.
She tried Oztag, but that didn't cut it.
"I told mum and dad that I wanted to play in the Koori Knockout. My uncle said he had a spot for me with the Newcastle Eagles and we played up at Raymond Terrace," Johnston said.
Johnston was hooked.
"It is all backyard footy," Johnston, now 21, said. "Playing with your cousins and mob out there, it is a different game. I think that is where a lot of my skills come from.
"It gave me confidence as well, being chucked in at such a young age with women. That is why I have no fear playing female rugby league."
Johnston is now one of the stars of NRLW competition and proud captain of the Indigenous All-Stars.
The Knights enforcer was on Wednesday named in the Dally M team of the year. That followed a barnstorming performance for NSW in their 20-14 triumph over Queensland in June
Her offloads, deft passing and fearless charges set Johnston apart from the other metre-eaters.
On Sunday, the 50th edition of the Koori Knockout will be in full swing in Yuin Country in Nowra.
Johnston's backyard will be Accor Stadium, where she hopes to lead the Knights to a NRLW premiership against Parramatta.
"It is a big game for us," Johnston said. "Our first time in the grand final."
Tapping into the players' heritage has been a big part of the Knights' success.
"The cultural days we had in the pre-season helped us connect and bond," Johnston said. "We found out what makes everyone tick. That is what has driven us this far."
Like her days at Belmont Public School, where "they needed an extra number and I was the only girl to put my hand up", Johnston will be out to set the tone from kick-off in the grand final.
"I just want to bite down on the mouthguard and take those tough carries," she said.
Paul Harragon's seismic hit on Manly enforcer Mark Carroll to start the 1997 grand final has become legend.
Ben Kennedy and Steve Simpson did the tough stuff against Parramatta in the 2001 decider.
Though admiring the Knights greats, Johnston's idol was someone closer to her heart and a pioneer of women's rugby league, Rebecca Young.
"I learnt a lot of my skills from Rebecca Young. I idolised her," Johnston said. "I have been involved with her somewhat in the past couple of years playing professional rugby league. That is where I got a lot of my knowledge and confidence from as well."
Johnston, in turn, plans to pass the knowledge and experience she has garnered on to the next generation of female players, especially in her old neighbourhood.
"With young girls coming from Windale into the [Knights] pathways now, that is something I have taken on board," she said. "They look up to me as a rugby league player. Last year, I went out and had a chat to the young girls. Hopefully I can inspire them onto greater things."
Johnston also plans to get back to the Koori Knockout.
First is Sunday. There is no better opportunity to inspire the next wave of female rugby league players than a grand final.
"I will be hyped up," Johnston said. "We are representing the region and want to do it with pride."
