Lana Bottrell was the voice of reassurance as her Bulldogs teammates battled nerves ahead of their opening match of the Group 4 women’s nines competition this month.
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The Red Devils sevens player believes that she was the only Bulldog who had experienced tackle football prior to round one of the nines competition at Ken Chillingworth Oval on November 17.
She said Bulldogs coach Bob Price and captain Gemma Wicks had asked her to be involved in the fledgling competition because of her tackle experience.
They had asked her “to support the girls and tell them that it doesn’t hurt that much”, she said, adding: “I said to the girls, ‘I’m nervous as crap too. But as soon as that ball is kicked off, or you grab that ball, your nerves are gone and you give it your all, and that’s what they did.’”
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The final round of the competition will be held a Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday. Gunnedah play Boggabri and Bendemeer.
Bottrell is sidelined with a shoulder injury but will cheer on her teammates.