![Simone Lickorish said it was "pretty amazing" to play alongside daughter Emmy Barr for Central North on the weekend. Picture Josh Brightman Balanced Image Studio Simone Lickorish said it was "pretty amazing" to play alongside daughter Emmy Barr for Central North on the weekend. Picture Josh Brightman Balanced Image Studio](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/fb37be56-b37b-4178-9161-77eeb9e92540.jpg/r0_0_900_600_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Up until a few weeks before the NSW Country Rugby Union Championships, Simone Lickorish was all set to cheer on daughter Emmy Barr in her senior Central North debut from the sidelines.
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But then the Kookaburras were short a hooker for the weekend.
And the rest, as they say, is history - literally.
Two years after becoming the first mother-and-daughter to play for Gunnedah, the dynamic duo created more history as the first to pull on the white and red for Central North together.
"I'm the first one crazy enough to actually still be playing rugby at 45," Lickorish joked.
Although, as she qualified, she only started playing when she was 39.
Ruefully, she reflected when she was Emmy's age girls/women's rugby "just wasn't around".
"I can honestly say that had it have been it would have been a different story," she said.
"But look I love playing. I've got three kids. Em's is the only one that plays rugby, but I think it's quite special."
It's something she fondly remembers doing with her own mother.
"We didn't play rugby, but I remember thinking this is cool so I thought I'd like to do that for my daughter," she said.
But playing together for your club and representing the zone are two different things.
"It was pretty amazing", Lickorish said, adding that she is "very thankful for the opportunity".
Not playing as much for the Red Devils this season - it takes the body a lot longer to recover these days - she hadn't initially planned on lacing up the boots.
![Barr (back fourth from left) and Lickorish (next to her) were part of a strong Gunnedah contingent that suited up for the Kookaburras last weekend. Picture by John Hickey. Barr (back fourth from left) and Lickorish (next to her) were part of a strong Gunnedah contingent that suited up for the Kookaburras last weekend. Picture by John Hickey.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/5bb914d1-16d7-4742-a2ee-b1d8f342d584.jpg/r0_0_1440_960_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It only came to fruition about three weeks ago," Lickorish explained.
"They didn't have another hooker.
"They were like we need someone else."
Knowing from past experience how tough a rugby it is and how she was going to be feeling it come Sunday, she said she thought it was something she'd really like to do with Emmy.
"I thought look it's going to be the only year. I'm done after this," she said.
Selected to play for the under 17s girls Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team at the nationals coming up in July, she is excited to see what the future holds for Emmy.
"I think she'll have a long successful career in rugby and I'm just happy that I've been able to play with her for a couple of years," she said.
![Barr didn't shy away from the physical battle. Picture by Gareth Gardner Barr didn't shy away from the physical battle. Picture by Gareth Gardner](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ingYyB85ps4jmG9t8mfsHP/6a5d5f6b-acd0-474a-b49e-a2f5e9505c6c.jpg/r0_0_5084_3491_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The baby of the Central North team at just 17, Lickorish proudly watched Emmy grow into the half-back role over the weekend.
Like any mum would be, she was admittedly "a little bit worried" being a teenager playing against women "and some of them older, bigger, tougher than I thought".
"But I thought she performed well," she said.
"She impressed me."
Part of a strong Red Devils contingent in the Kookaburras side, the focus now shifts back to the local Central North competition and the big test that awaits them this Saturday.
They are off to Narrabri for a top-of-the-table clash.
Both sides are unbeaten so far, the Blue Boars just holding top spot ahead of the Red Devils on for and against.