FRESH-FACED Lions Poppy Boltz and Jennifer Dunne have arguably two of their team's toughest assignment in Sunday's NAB AFLW Grand Final against North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos' three-pronged tall forward line of Emma King (187cm), Kate Shierlaw (186cm) and Tahlia Randall (175cm) looms as a trump card for the hosts after causing headaches for opponents all season.
And although the trio are all veterans of the competition, Brisbane stalwart Shannon Campbell is confident her two inexperienced sidekicks are made of the right stuff to stand up on the biggest day of the season.
Boltz, from Cairns, was taken in last year's Supplementary Draft, while Dunne arrived in Australia less than four months ago after helping Dublin win the All-Ireland Gaelic football title in front of more than 45,000 fans at Croke Park.
With Kate Lutkins sitting out the season to have her first child and Jade Pregelj playing just one match before suffering an ACL injury, Boltz and Dunne (both 178cm) were quickly thrust into the key defensive spotlight.
And they've thrived.
Both women have played 10 matches, and alongside Campbell, captain Bre Koenen, vice-captain Nat Grider and the experienced Phoebe Monahan, have steadily improved through the season.
"They've been growing each week," Campbell said.
"For Jen to come to a completely different country, play a new game, every week working on her craft and keep getting better is incredible.
"And Poppy is still pretty new to the game too. They've put in a lot of work to be where they are.
"We're pretty grateful to have those two in our team because they've added a little bit of extra height to us.
"We were averaging 173cm, which is quite short when you look at some of the tall forwards in our competition.
"To have those two is extremely valuable."
Dunne has had an excellent finals series, keeping tabs on dangerous Crow Caitlin Gould and countrywoman Aishling Moloney in the preliminary final triumph over Geelong.
Like Boltz, Dunne is extremely athletic, with the pair able to halve contests when seemingly at a disadvantage.
Campbell described North's forward line as "potent", but said after a season with her new teammates, she now had total confidence in them ahead of the decider.
"Our backline over the years has been pretty consistent," she said.
"Having two new members is pretty difficult to start with, but we knew we could back them.
"Jen picked up things so quickly and Poppy was going so well during the pre-season. They're both really good players and we'll back them this weekend."
Campbell is as reliable as anyone on the Lions' list and will run out for her 75th game in her fifth Grand Final, 12 months after being adjudged best on ground in last year's heartbreaking loss to Melbourne.
With Dakota Davidson injured for the final term against the Cats, it was Campbell who was swung forward to take a diving mark and kick the clutch game-winning goal with seven minutes remaining.
"Craig (Starcevich) instils a lot of knowledge in us and he allows us to play to our best, whether that's our normal position or another position we're thrown into, we know we can get the best out of ourselves," she said.
"Going forward has been fun, but whether I play forward or back, as long as I do my job, that's the main thing."
