Tonegato switch shapes as Steelers finals ace

The Rio Olympic Gold Medalist has played almost exclusively at fullback since returning to the 13-aside game, but emerged as a trump card for Jillaroos coach Brad Donald at the back of the scrum at the World Cup in November.

With Sam Bremner preferred in the No. 1 jumper, Tonegato made a seamless shift to the middle of the park with her speed and ball-playing ability wreaking havoc on rivals.

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While she's set to wear the No. 6 at Cronulla this NRLW season, Steelers coach Alicia-Kate Hawke took a leaf out of Donald's book in switching her biggest attacking ace to lock in her side's win over the Tigers last week.

The 28-year-old was subsequently named in the No. 13 for Sunday's showdown with the Bulldogs, with Dragons flyer Teagan Berry retained in the No. 1 jumper. Hawke said the move was aimed at finding a point of difference in her middle rotation.

"We've had a few discussions, with Keels (skipper Keeley Davis) as well, and the main thing we'd recognised over a couple of games is we were starting to get a little bit loose in the middle when [the opposition's] getting a bit of that fast ball," Hawke said.

"On the reverse side of it, it helps us having that little bit of extra speed and momentum to help us go forward because a lot of our middles are quite similar in their style of play. We just needed that little bit of variety there.

"Obviously when we have Tonny up in the middle just adds a second fullback, so there's another person pushing up around the ball which opens a lot more opportunities for that kind of second phase to happen.

"A little shuffle around allowed us to clean up some stuff in the middle there and also gave Flash (Berry) a chance to sniff around out the back too, which was good."

It signals the Steelers intentions to not die wondering in a finals series that sees them matched against the three biggest forward packs in the competition.

Read more: Steelers ready to empty finals tank in Bulldogs showdown

While finals football is typically played in low-risk fashion, Hawke says she won't shackle a side that, in Tonegato and Davis, boasts two of the most potent attacking weapons in the game.

"Since way back in November we wanted to be a team that looked to play upbeat footy," Hawke said.

"Given the ability we've got in being able to push up around the ball, our strength is always going to be more of our speed and our endurance rather than sticking to a big strong power game.

"I don't want us to have to play set football and we've spoken about that a lot. We've stripped away some of our structure we had from the start because I really want the girls to back themselves.

"It's just about getting that balance between doing that and then also making sure we're still taking smart safe options. I think in our previous games when our completion rates have been so low, it's been hard for the girls to feel that they can let go of the ball a little bit.

"There's a lot of talent out there and I want to be able to play reactive football, eyes up and trust the girls' decision making. It's just a matter of holding the ball and completing enough that you can do it in an effective manner."

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