CNRU: Sisters Emily and Jess Kelso achieve 50-game milestone for Barraba/Gwydir on the same day

In front of a big crowd at Barraba for Old Boys Day, she played her 50^th game for the side she was a driving force in forming.

But she wasn't alone in achieving the milestone. In fact someone very close to her did it to.

In what would have to be a pretty unique occurrence it was also younger sister Jess's 50^th game.

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It made it all the more special, Kelso said, and also to have another sister, Kiah Newell, out there on the field with them.

"When you think about it it is pretty special," she said.

"Especially when you get to play with not just one but two of your siblings.

"That's pretty special too.

"Our mom is very proud that's for sure."

Eleven-and-a-half months older than Jess, she reflected that all through school teachers used to call them each others name because they looked like twins.

In reality they couldn't probably be any different, in pretty much everything.

"I'm short and a bit more stockier, she's tall and thin. She's firey and she will say it how it is, whereas I'm more on the quiet side and whatnot," the 22-year old said.

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It was a big day of milestones with Amie Middlemiss also running out for her 50^th and Will Robinson his 100^th.

One of the remarkable things about the 50 game feat for the three women is that they haven't missed a game since Kelso's persistence paid off and the Ram-Rats joined the Central North women's competition in 2019.

After being introduced to the sport while at school at Barraba Central and falling in love with it, she had tried the season before to get a side started but couldn't get anyone to coach and couldn't quite get the numbers.

The rugby genes are in the blood.

"My dad (David) he captained the under-19s side, and he played a few years for Barraba," Kelso said.

"And my grandfather, so dad's dad, also played a golden oldies game, and there was a photo of him there on Saturday, too, which was pretty cool."

"That's pretty cool too, knowing that your dad and grandfather played for them as well."

In saying that, league was a pretty big influence growing up.

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"My dad, he was always union, but my stepdad he was always league. So growing up, we were always at league games and it was always the Barraba Bulldogs," she reflected.

But then one day at school a teacher came up and said they were trying to get a women's rugby side going and would she be interested.

Initially she was hesitant.

"But then some of the boys in my year, they were like 'you wouldn't handle it, you wouldn't handle it'.

"And I was like that righto I'm going to prove you wrong," she said.

And so she did.

Saturday was the Ram-Rats final game for the season (they have the bye this weekend). It was a tough one to finish on going down to minor premiers Pirates 70-nil, but as Kelso noted they held them out until the final minute of the first quarter, and gave it their "heart and soul".

"It was a bit disappointing to lose by as much as we did but at the end of it I just said to the girls 'you know what we gave it 110 per cent and that's all you could ask for," she said.

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