Just before the Jillaroos flew out for the Rugby League World Cup, they were greeted by a gauntlet.
The players' faces lit up as they saw the two dozen or so applauding women, all of them having poured the concrete for the launching pad from which the current side would jet to England.
And they flew there business class, a rare privilege among the women's sides that was pointed out by Cook Islands coach Rusty Matua, and an unimaginable thought from the playing days of many of the women waving goodbye to them.
