'Believe in ourselves': With her sister at her side, Zara stands tall

It was the words of her Gunnedah Bulldogs league tag coach, Jacqui Jones, which rang in her ears with every step.

"She told us 'Just run the ball'," Mannion said.

"You can do it if we just believe in ourselves. I was telling myself 'Don't stop, just run'."

It was good advice.

Mannion scored four tries in the second half of today's game against the Boggabri Kangaroos, and earned one Best and Fairest vote in the course of Gunnedah's 48-10 win.

The 17-year-old is in her second year of league tag with the Bulldogs. She and her twin sister, Grace (who scored a try of her own), joined the side last year at the suggestion of their mother.

"Mum sponsors the footy," Mannion said.

"And we played Oztag against Jacqui and her team. They spoke to Mum afterwards and said we should come try out."

It was a shrewd decision. Both Zara and Grace play on the wing, and after a lifetime of athletics, soccer, and Oztag, they have ample pace and plenty of physical talent.

"We're lucky to have both of them," Jones said.

Having her sister in the side made the transition much easier for Zara.

The pair, who were born in Inverell but have lived for more than a decade in Gunnedah, are attached at the hip and can often sense what the other is thinking - even if they don't always agree.

"We do fight on the field, there is some yelling on the field, but it's good to have her there," she said.

"If she's next to me, we know what to do ... we are very close, we do everything together all the time."

They both played important roles in today's victory, which was the first of the season for the Bulldogs women.

But despite the 38-point margin, it was not an easy win.

The hosts only led 14-10 at half time, and Jones said their talk at the break was focused mainly on their defence.

"A real focus of ours is when we're deep down our end, we want the ball to stay there," Jones said.

"We want to get up really quickly for those four tags, and we executed that really well at the start of the second half ... and they never recovered from that."

By the end, Gunnedah's fitness - and Zara's sheer footspeed - shone through as the Bulldogs scored 34 unanswered points in the final 25 minutes of the game.

It was an emphatic victory, and one which pleased the side following their opening-round loss to Werris Creek.

"Last week was disappointing for them. I feel like this win has motivated them, it's been good," Jones said.

Zara could barely wipe the smile off her face with four impressive tries to her name.

And after a thoroughly enjoyable first 12 months in the side, she doesn't see herself going anywhere anytime soon.

"Definitely [sticking around], it's really fun," she said.

"It's only my second year playing, but they're a great bunch of girls to hang out with and spend time with."