Preparations is key to success! The sentiment that drives Fijian Bulikula captain, Josephine Maejiirs as they look forward to their match up against a strong Fetu Samoa team. Maejiirs, who is one of the inaugural Bulikulas that made history when they defeated the PNG Orchids at Leichardt in 2019, said although they had a short time to prepare for that match, they managed to pull off a stunning victory and will be looking to replicate that this Sunday at the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby city. She believes that it's going to be a tough match going up against the Samoans but is relishing the challenge. Facing similar circumstances, she said they are hoping to draw on that and the strong connections that they built through training. [caption id="attachment_46331" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Picture Courtesy: NRL Photographer - Scott Davis[/caption] The Fijian side features 14 NRLW stars and 7 Fijian based girls and are excited to go head-to-head with the Samoans. Although they haven't had as much game time as other nations like host country Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Samoa, the Fijians will be looking to go one up against their Polynesian rivals and will be drawing on their unity as a team to get the job done. "We only met for 5 days, and we trained for 3. And what we drew on that was the connection, the power of culture, the power of unity. We didn't have much, we didn't prepare much.” “The athleticism with the Fijian girls, it’s incredible. The depth and wealth that we’ve learned in the last few days is incredible. We are excited, really excited.” Whilst other women and girls from other footy playing nations have had the opportunity to play tests regularly, the Bulikulas, who have had limited opportunity to do so are looking forward to the challenge and welcome the announcement of more internationals for the women’s teams. “There’s going to be scheduled games and that’s why I’m encouraging all these young girls to come through so that we can then grade them and get them and prepare them for all these upcoming games, so that we can be more competitive. "Our goal is to get in and be more competitive.” ENDS//