The Jillaroos have been forced into a major change for Sunday\u2019s game against New Zealand, with Dally M Medal winner Tamika Upton ruled out with a calf injury thar opens the door for her NSW State of Origin counterpart to make her international debut.<\/p>\n
Abbi Church will start at fullback this weekend in Auckland, with team officials hopeful that Upton will recover from the minor injury in time for next week\u2019s rematch in the final in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Upton is fresh off one of the greatest seasons in NRLW history where she scored a remarkable 20 tries in 13 games to go with the Dally M and her fifth title.<\/p>\n
She was equally brilliant in Australia\u2019s 60-0 triumph over Samoa last week with two tries, two assists, four line-break assists and a game-high 182 running metres.<\/p>\n
But she won\u2019t be risked on Sunday, with Church rewarded for a couple of outstanding seasons for Parramatta and a breakout Origin campaign where she scored on debut this season as the Blues claimed a 2-1 series win. <\/p>\n
\u201cTamika pulled up on Tuesday\u2019s training with calf soreness, so our performance staff just took some precautionary actions and wanted to get that checked out,\u201d Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a really long season for Tamika, and she has had issues with the calf previously. She\u2019s got a minor strain, so it\u2019s best that we look after her and work towards getting her back for next week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for Abbi to make a debut, someone who\u2019s been part of the campaign over the last two years. She\u2019s been working really hard, has had a great season as well, so it\u2019s another opportunity for a debutant which is exciting for Abbi and the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one other change to the squad, with Makenzie Weale ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a pelvic injury. Olivia Higgins joins the reserves.<\/p>\n