It's not every day that Western Rams coach Jess Skinner gets to wake up in the morning and look out over a golden, tropical beach.
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While the environment might be tempting to get lost in, the reason for her trip north to Townsville is constantly on her mind in the final week before the Indigenous All Stars clash.
"The stadium looks phenomenal and the backdrop to it is amazing, so I'm trying to be in the moment, but at the same time, the focus is on the job to do," Skinner said.
She's in North Queensland as an assistant to head coach Ian Bourke, and both Western Rams products are working feverishly behind the scenes to get the women's squad ready for Saturday's meeting with the Maori side.
Anything to help grow the game out there is always a focus for me.
- Jess Skinner
"I'm feeling extremely grateful, it's such a huge honour to get to represent your people on a national level," Skinner said.
"It's not too overwhelming, I feel really well prepared for it, and I've got a great coaching staff around me, especially with Ian Bourke, an ex-Rams player there, he's great to learn from."
"I've never really had a week like this in my football career, it's all new to me, I'm not sure what I'm in for."
While border closures and other difficulties have added to the surreal feeling of the lead-in to the weekend's clashes, Skinner is waiting until the final horn sounds before she allows herself to enjoy the moment.
"I've been told that it's a big week and to make sure I get as much rest as possible, I'm taking it as it comes right now, the focus is just on getting this team ready," Skinner said.
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"It's the first time we've really been able to be meet because of all the border restrictions, so I've got a job to do first and then hopefully at the end of the week, when we're in there and the hooter goes off, I can maybe live in the moment a bit."
While there's a huge chance for Skinner present in the mix of different coaching staff on deck in Townsville, as Bourke has been open about his desire to hand off the head coach role to an Indigenous woman for 2022's All Stars match, she's looking to bring the experience back to the regions as her first priority following gameday.
"Every opportunity that I do have, and that I'm fortunate enough to have, I love to bring it back to our region, a lot of what I'm doing right now, in addition to the work with the Western Rams through the country champs, is developing coaches at the academy, we really want to have a really strong pool out there in this game," Skinner said.
"Being in this kind of environment, with this kind of professionalism, firstly is going to be a huge growth for me as a coach and secondly, what I can take from here and what I can take from the people, the chance to bring them back there would be incredible."
"Anything to help grow the game out there is always a focus for me."
The Indigenous All Stars matches are set to kick off this weekend on Saturday, February 20, with the women playing from 4.40pm AEST and the men playing at 7.10.