Indigenous playmaker Kirra Dibb has revealed the words of encouragement from co-captain Tallisha Harden which spurred her on to a Trish Hina Medal winning performance on Friday night.
Dibb, a proud Wonnarua woman, claimed the medal as NRL Harvey Norman All Stars women's player of the match for the first time following her side's 26-4 win, with some simple advice from Harden ringing in her ears throughout the match at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
"'T' was telling me to kick it to the moon every single time she could," Dibb told pan66.com after the match.
Even just before kick-off, she looked at me and goes 'To. The. Moon.' That reinforcement, especially from the skipper, is very important.
Kirra Dibb
"Kicking has always been one of my favourite parts of the game. Something I have worked on in the last couple of years is the technique around it and how to manage a whole game through those kicks."
The advice worked a treat, with Dibb's kicking game causing countless issues for the Māori on an unhappy evening in Townsville.
Kirra Dibb's superb kicking game
In addition to kicking an early 40/20, Dibb forced several errors with kicks and finished the game having booted the ball for 216 metres.
The 26-year-old also set up a try in the win to beat out two-try heroes Jaime Chapman and Kimberley Hunt to the medal.
Harden paid tribute to her side's "quiet achiever" after the match, in which the Indigenous recorded their biggest ever win over their Māori counterparts.
"[Kirra] just executed today, she took control of the game when she needed to and took a lot of pressure off everyone else," Harden said.
"She just battles away quietly, super humble, I am really happy for her."
Fittingly Dibb claimed the medal in what is now her home city of Townsville.
The 26-year-old joined the Cowboys last year for their inaugural campaign in the NRL Telstra Women's Premiership, playing in all nine of the club's matches.
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