Warringah Ratette who is a rising star in Australian rugby
SHANICE Parker is the exciting 20-year-old back from the Warringah Rats who is a role model for the growing popularity of women’s rugby in Australia.
Manly
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SHANICE Parker is the exciting 20-year-old back from the Warringah Rats who is a role model for the growing popularity of women’s rugby in Australia.
While the Ratettes lost their grand final 38-17 to the Sydney University at Woollahra Oval on Saturday, Parker made the most of her limited opportunities at fullback to be one of the best players on the field.
And the real athlete showed the benefits from having made her debut for the Wallaroos in the recent two-Test series against New Zealand.
“I thought Shanice Parker stood out, she was lightning,” said veteran Warringah and Wallaroos halfback Cobie-Jane Morgan.
“She’s got amazing skill and her vision off the ball.
“She puts her heart and soul into everything and goes 100 per cent all the time.”
And Morgan, who made her Australian debut in the 2010 World Cup, said she can’t wait to see what the future holds for Parker.
But the modest young footballer would prefer to sidestep the topic of her own season,.
I started playing when I was 15 but I am still learning
“I started playing when I was 15 but I am still learning,” she said.
“I am quite humbled but there is a lot more yet to come.”
And Parker said the disappointment of Saturday’s grand final will only make the team more determined to go one better in 2019.
“It’s hard losing,” Parker said.
“But you’ve got to come back bigger and better, focus on the review, see what we have to work on next season to hopefully get that cup back.
The Ratettes were unable to find their rhythm, gettting caned in the penalties, conceding the first six with the count at halftime a whopping 13-3 against them when they trailed 17-3.
The team was also disrupted by injuries early in the game with the loss of hooker Amanda Gibson a major disruption
Co-coach Tui Ormsby said the team stuck it out and fought to the end, scoring the final try .
Parker and the other Wallaroos now have six weeks off before going back into pre-season training for NSW ahead of the Super W competition..