The Rugby League Mackay District U17s grand final will feature friends on both sides of the ledger

Crossing the painted white line will turn any friend into an enemy, and the closely intertwined teams at Norths and Wanderers will experience just that this Saturday.

Schoolmates Eva Neilson (L) and Emily Bella will face off in the U17s girls grand final on Saturday. Picture: Matthew Forrest

They are teammates on some fields and rivals on others, but the two opponents will remain friends following Saturday’s clash.

Eva Neilson and Emily Bella will face off in the under 17s league grand final, with the match set as the curtain-raiser for the XXXX Chairman’s Challenge semi final at BB Print Stadium.

The pair of friends play alongside each other for St Patrick’s College, but Neilson will run out for the Norths on Saturday against Bella’s Wanderers side.

Neilson said the friendship off the pitch meant nothing once the game started.

“It’s really exciting to be playing in a grand final, we’ve been training together for a while for a St Pat’s tournament coming up in a few weeks, and there’s a lot of Norths and Wanderers girls playing for St Pat’s as well,” Neilson said.

“It’s exciting to play against some friends, especially in a grand final.”

Eva Neilson for the Norths U17 girls will play in the grand final. Picture: Matthew Forrest

Bella, who is cousins with Cutters captain Ross Bella, said most of her teammates had not played in a stadium before.

“It’s pretty special, not only for us but for women’s rugby league and the future of the sport, it’s great to get these opportunities,” she said.

“Hopefully we can get a big crowd, not just friends and family but also locals who love rugby and want to watch some live sport this weekend.”

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The grand final will be the last junior’s match for many of the girls on both sides, but Bella said the Wanderers team was trying to remain focused on the task at hand.

“We’ve just been working on the basics at training, just working on the small things that will hopefully get us the win,” Bella said.

“Hopefully knowing all the girls gives us a bit of an advantage that we can use.”

The match will begin at 6pm at BB Print Stadium on Saturday.

Originally published as The Rugby League Mackay District U17s grand final will feature friends on both sides of the ledger