Pirates coach Anthony Barbara couldn't have been prouder of the character his young side showed in the face of adversity as they toppled reigning Central North women's 7s champions Inverell 17-5 at Gunnedah on Saturday.
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They had to play the second half of their minor semi-final without inspirational playmaker Miah O'Sullivan after she suffered what appeared to be a serious neck injury late in the first half.
Later determined to be soft tissue damage, half-time was called early and the game delayed for over 20 minutes while she was attended to and they awaited an ambulance.
Barbara admitted it did rattle his side a bit.
At the break the body language was a bit despondent, the players concerned for their team-mate.
But rather than throw them off their game it served to galvanise them.
"We sort of used it as a bit of motivation in the sense that we said 'look this has happened you can go down and be worried about her or you can use it as motivation and fight' and they did," Barbara said.
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With scores locked at 5-all, Isabella Thrupp pushed them back out to a five point advantage before Sophie Barr burned the Highlanders defence on the outside and streaked away 80m to seal the victory.
"Sophie's got great top end speed and when she turns it on it's pretty to watch," Barbara said.
"But look that came from everyone on the team, they built pressure and held the ball and moved it to space."
He said it was a "massive" effort from his side to overcome the set-back of losing O'Sullivan, who has been an integral part of the side not only this season but for the last three.
"I was super stoked and proud of those girls," he said.
"Just those second efforts. They really stood up and performed for each other. They fought to the last minute and it took every one of those girls to win today."
They struck three minutes in through Phoebe McLoughlin but didn't hold the lead for long with April Lindsay levelling a minute later.
"It's a funny game 7s," Barbara said.
"We always emphasise starting fast, always try and get points on the board early because it's a short game and that start, it can really put pressure on teams."
They also did a lot of the little 'one-percenters' well, which in such a short game can be massive for the end result.
"They played really well and they competed for everything, the kick-offs, the scrum, the lineouts. Everything was a competition and that's what we talk about week in week out and they did that well today," Barbara said.
They will now face the loser of this weekend's major semi-final between Gunnedah and Narrabri for a spot in the grand final.
