After being plucked from relative obscurity last season, Claudia Nielsen is excited for her second taste of Super W.
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The Tamworth native has been named to start on the wing for the RugbyWA side in their opener against the Brumbies at GIO Stadium on Saturday afternoon
Nielsen is part of a new-look squad with just over half of the extended 29-strong squad in their debut season.
It is also a very young squad.
At 22, she is one of the eldest in the team.
Still a relative rugby novice herself, she admitted it is a bit surreal.
"It's odd because I'm still learning the game and so are they," she said.
"[But] There's a lot of raw talent there."
Nielsen started on the wing in all four of RugbyWA's games last season and is excited to rip in.
"It's exciting because we're a new team, we're really young, and the underdog status is on our side," she said.
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They are looking at Saturday as a "redemption match" after the Brumbies knocked them out of finals contention last year. For Nielsen the memories aren't all bad, she did score her first try.
Saturday's match kicks-off at 4.35pm.
Nielsen is one of three players with ties to the region who will feature in the opening round, with Quirindi's Brooke Saunders and Ashleigh Walker lining up for the Melbourne Rebels against the NSW Waratahs on Friday night.
Harry Wilson's impressive performances for the Queensland Reds have meanwhile seen the former Gunnedah native retain the No.8 jersey for their clash with the Jaguares on Sunday morning.
Red's coach Brad Thorn has made five changes to their starting XV for the match-up with last year's Super Rugby finalists, one of which is Inverell's Jock Campbell shifting from the wing to fullback.
