Sisters in a league of their own

With six Kiwi Ferns in the Broncos side, there will be no shortage of familiar faces for the Warriors in tonight’s high-stakes NRL women’s premiership clash.

None more so than for sisters Hilda Mariu (nee Peters) and Kahurangi Peters, who will square off against fellow sibling Rona Peters for the first time in Melbourne.

Throw in the fact that Mariu is married to Warriors captain Laura Mariu, the match is very much a family affair.

‘‘At first I was a little bit nervous but now I’m really pumped,’’ eldest sister Hilda said.

‘‘I actually feel sorry for my parents. I know they are very proud of us all for being in these NRL teams, but I’m not too sure who they will be cheering for at the end of the day.’’

The trio have plenty of experience playing together in the Auckland club scene as well as teaming up for the national team, but this will be the first time either of them have been on opposite sides of the field.

Hilda and Rona have different playing styles with the former named on the wing, while the latter will be lining up at lock for Brisbane.

But when they do cross paths, Hilda will be doing her best to steer clear of her younger sister’s hard-hitting shoulders.

‘‘Let’s just put it this way, if I’m smart I probably won’t run at her,’’ she said. ‘‘The smart option would be either be to gas her or just not even go near her because she can do some big hits.

‘‘But if she does decide to do that I will be giving her the nicest, ugliest look she’s seen in her life – being the big sister that is.’’

The match is at AAMI Park, before the NRL preliminary final between Melbourne and Cronulla, with a spot in next week’s grand final at stake.

The Broncos have all but booked their place in the decider, and the Warriors can go a long way to joining them if they can hand the Queensland club its first defeat of the season.

The Warriors are looking to bounce back from last week’s 22-10 defeat to the Dragons.

Hilda says they know where to improve and has had the luxury of being able to do extra analysis with Laura.

After six years together, the couple were married earlier this year and Hilda says their relationship works just as well on the field as it does at home.

‘‘I will be giving her the nicest, ugliest look she’s seen in her life – being the big sister that is.’’

‘‘Other people don’t get to go home and analyse the game or see how we can improve our performances,’’ she said.

‘‘So Laura and I are very lucky in terms of that. She is the captain and is able to bounce off me, and because I’m on the outside I’m am able to see some of the gaps that might be breaking down in the middle.’’