The gamble that led to a Super W debut for ACT Brumbies duo Teliya Hetaraka and Makayla Morris

The entire family had been badgering his daughter Makalya Morris, the middle child in a family with five kids, asking when the ACT Brumbies' team list would be announced.

As soon as it did, he began packing a bag for a near 10-hour road trip up the coast from Narooma to Coffs Harbour.

Because his daughter will line up at fullback for the Brumbies in their Super W showdown against the President's XV at Coffs Harbour International Stadium on Sunday.

"He is pretty cool, he has always been the dad to give me a few tips. I know he will give me a few tips before I run out on the field which I'm very excited for," Brumbies fullback Morris said.

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The rest of the Morris clan will be gathered around a screen wherever they can find a vantage point.

Because for Morris this is more than just another game, and perhaps more than a Super W debut.

The Erindale College student took a gamble when she left the family home in Narooma to move to Canberra and fulfil her rugby ambitions.

"I moved at the end of year 11, so I only did one term at Erindale in year 11 so the transition to school was quite hard," Morris said.

"After that I had holidays and finally found a job, so I got on my feet and it pretty much just worked out from there.

"I'd never actually played XVs until I got to Canberra. In Narooma I was always a sevens girl. I played in sevens carnivals run by the Brumbies down the south coast.

"I moved up to Canberra and my roommate, she plays for the Vikings, we both went to Vikings. It's my first year playing XVs.

"It was definitely hard. I have four siblings so it was definitely hard to move. But I guess that's what you have to do if you want to make it far.

"You've got to make the sacrifices."

Brumbies coach Dan Hawke has a squad built on stories like this.

Some drive up to five hours to join their teammates for a training session. Some work full days before rushing to training in Queanbeyan on a cold winter's night.

A decision to roll the dice is about to pay off for Morris, with Claudia Obst shifting to the bench and Tess Staines dropping out of the 23. But there's one more change.

Out goes Apryll Green, and in comes Teliya Hetaraka - another who knows all about sacrifices.

Another Erindale College student, teenage sensation Hetaraka left her mother and two siblings in Adelaide to move to Canberra to pursue her football dream.

Now she is poised to make her debut off the bench against a President's XV searching for its first win after opening the campaign with a draw against the Western Force.

You'll find her mother Rebecca Hill watching from Adelaide.

Surely, she will take a moment to reflect on the day she took her four-year-old daughter to sign up for rugby league with the Tuggeranong Buffaloes.

A moment to reflect on the move to South Australia for a fresh start, where Hetaraka quickly emerged as a player to watch in both sevens - which led her to playing in Japan - and in XVs as she cracked the state women's side.

With that will come a sense of pride in watching her daughter make the decision to move back to Canberra on her own and force her way into the Raiders under 18s and Brumbies women's teams.

"My mum and I are very close, my family is all very close," Hetaraka said.

"Me and my younger brother are extremely close, I've always been his mentor through rugby, and me and my sister have gotten along quite well over the past couple of years, so it was definitely hard leaving my family over there.

"It was definitely a hard choice to leave my family, I moved over here by myself and had no one here.

"That's what I did, I left my family, I've only been back twice since moving here, just because of commitments.

"Like my mum always taught me, we've got to go chase it. It's not going to come to us, we've got to work hard and put in the hard yards before we get the reward.

"She's always been in my corner, backing me in whatever I decide to do. She is my No. 1 supporter, most definitely."

SUPER W ROUND TWO

Sunday: ACT Brumbies v President's XV at Coffs Harbour International Stadium, 11am.

ACT Brumbies squad: 1. Iris Verebalavu, 2. Harriet Elleman, 3. Louise Burrows, 4. Michaela Leonard (c), 5. Ash Fernandez, 6. Pearl Rakete, 7. Rebecca Smyth, 8. Zali Waihape-Andrews,

9. Jane Garraway, 10. Ella Ryan, 11. Halley Derera, 12. Siokapesi Palu, 13. Lillyann Mason-Spice, 14. Talei Qalo Wilson, 15. Makayla Morris. Replacements: 16. Montana Ojeda, 17. Niki Paterson, 18. Kimberley Fyfe, 19. Grace Kemp, 20. Tayla Stanford, 21. Susannah Cooke, 22. Teliya Heteraka, 23. Claudia Obst.

President's XV squad: 1. Moniqca Mo'ale, 2. Tasmin Sheppard, 3. Candice Clay, 4. Trudi Peterson, 5. Kate Holland, 6. Karen Nabaluarua, 7. Emma Bradford, 8. Alex Sulusi (c), 9. Paris Ingegneri, 10. Isla Norman-Bell, 11. Jemima McCalman, 12. Maraea Tupai, 13. Jasmin Huriwai, 14. Claudia Nelson, 15. Tylah Vallance. Replacements: 16. Miki Trbojevich, 17. Yolanda Maiava, 18. Ayla Cook, 19. Grace Qaranivalu, 20. Hana Lane, 21. Tatum Bird, 22. Vani Va'aga, 23. Renae Nona.

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