The representative gun has stepped up this season to assist Anthony Barbara coach the women's side.

They couldn't have wished for a better start to the season on Saturday.

They couldn't have wished for a better start to the season on Saturday. In a strong statement they thrashed Quirindi 40-nil and 44-nil (due to numbers they played two games of 7s rather than 10s).

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O'Sullivan was prominent scoring a hat-trick, along with Shae Partridge and Lilliana Reardon.

Reardon was one of four debutants with Molly Cullen, Amanda Gleeson and Samantha Way also playing their first senior games in Pirates colours.

One of the driving forces behind Pirates' foray into the the Central North competition, O'Sullivan headed north after the 2019 season to pursue study and rugby opportunities.

Moving back to Tamworth around this time last year as she recovered from ankle surgery she had no plans to play for Pirates. But FOMO (fear of missing out) got the better of her and she ended up having a run in the last couple of gala days.

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Initially unsure whether she was going to play this season, when Barbara approached her about coming on board it seemed a good way to still "be able to be close to the group and be a little bit more than a water runner".

She had dipped her toes into the coaching waters last season helping out with the club's junior girls sides.

"I'll still help out with the juniors.

"I just couldn't commit to the Friday nights unfortunately," O'Sullivan said.

"Then the opportunity arose with helping Barbs (Barbara) out with the seniors.

"I did really enjoy it (coaching) and I think that it's a different level and it's a really good opportunity."

One of the things she has most enjoyed is having to think about the game from a different perspective.

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"Taking a bit of a step back and looking at what's going to work for our group and where are we very strong and finding drills and skills to develop the playing group so that we can be successful," she said.

"It gives you a different appreciation of the game too when you have to stand back and coach."

They are a relatively young side with several girls stepping up from the juniors last year.

Bella Cruickshank meanwhile crossed for four tries, and Brooke McKinnon and Martha Harvey each three as Narrabri beat Barraba/Gwydir 92-nil.

The next round will be on April 23, and will see Pirates again match-up against Quirindi, Barraba/Gwydir host Gunnedah and Narrabri travel down to Scone.

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