Handed the reins of the Wallaroos on a full-time long-term deal earlier this year, Jo Yapp has already shown she's got eyes on a much bigger prize than simply a successful Pacific Four or WXV tournament. Instead, she's put her faith in youth and set her sights on next year's Rugby World Cup and beyond.
With just a short, two-week runway into her first Test as Wallaroos coach and little time to get her squad understanding new systems and each other, Yapp turned away from the easy option of maintaining a similar side to last year, and instead showed she's unafraid to bruise egos while putting her own fingerprints on the group after she named her first squad of the year without some of the Wallaroos most experienced players.
"Working with the other coaches, Sam [Needs] and Chris [Delooze], we've come up with a game model that we think will really suit and allow these players to really express themselves," Yapp said.
"We want a team that are really brave that they want to have a go at things without being reckless, but equally, that they're disciplined, but they can bring their personality. It's just that high energy which you see from the girls and everything they do. We want to just build on that."
A mix of both youth and experience, the 30-player group included well-known names such as Arabella McKenzie, Michaela Leonard, Georgie Friedrichs and Lori Cramer as well as nine potential debutants, two not even old enough to vote. But most surprisingly there was no space for established Wallaroos' Emily Robinson, Sera Naqaima and Annabelle Codey or last year's Australian rugby Rookie of the Year Carys Dallinger.
"Yeah, most definitely [a look to the future]. The squad is a mix obviously of youth and experience in there, so you've obviously always got one eye on the World Cup and what players you're going to be looking towards that with, so giving these young players an opportunity now gives them a chance to grow.
"We've spent a lot of time looking at Super W and seeing what players are in form, and we've spent a lot of time on that and going through all the data. I think the key thing is those players that have missed out, we're having conversations with them and being really clear what they need to do to get back in. The door's not shut at any point.
"They need to just go away from this, focus on those areas which we've been feeding back on, and at the moment, the other players have taken their opportunity."
Skyrocketing her way into the Wallaroos lineup last year and earning high praise through their Test campaign, Dallinger struggled to back up her form in her second season of Super Rugby Women's with Yapp now turning to young gun Faitala Moleka as one of her two playmaker options, demonstrating competition for places is stronger than it's ever been before.
"Obviously she [Dallinger] is currently carrying an injury, but that wasn't the [reason], she would have been selectable. It's obviously been a challenging year for her, with consistency and somebody like Faitala has performed week in week out at Brumbies."
At just 19-years-old, Moleka has been dubbed a "superstar of the future" by former Wallaroos assistant coach and Brumbies coach Scott Fava after she made her Wallaroos debut last year and raked up six caps, but already she's been overshadowed by the inclusion of two high schoolers Caitlyn Halse and Shalom Sauaso who stand poised to make their Wallaroos debuts.
Sixteen-year-old Sauaso garnered plenty of attention before the season even begun with an eye-catching preseason performance, before she backed it up through her debut Super W season with the Queensland Reds through her hard ball carrying and penchant for finding the tryline.
But with interest from rugby league and the high schooler already signing a development deal with the Brisbane Broncos getting her in the Wallaroos system early is a key move for Yapp keeping the star in the game long term.
"From day one, when we saw her in the trial game out at Roma, you could see that she was a very special player and she's absolutely held her own in every game that she's played in for the Reds and the physicality that she's shown and we've had some really good conversations," Yapp said of Sauaso.
"I've met with her, with her parents, and we've chatted through stuff and ultimately it's an opportunity for her to come into camp and to grow with some of the obviously more senior players like a like a C Smith [Cecilia] and Trill [Trileen Pomare] in those positions. I think it's just a massive opportunity to develop her.
"Ultimately, we want her to come in and enjoy her rugby, that's the first and foremost and I think with rugby it's such a great global game and there's so many opportunities in it, so she's coming in because she's been outstanding and in outstanding form at her Super [club] so she's really deserving of a of a place.
"We're looking, not just obviously 2025, but home World Cup 2029, that's great for her."
Meanwhile, Halse has only grown following her second year in the Super W and a chance to experience her first Wallaroos camp last year, with no doubt she'll be featuring early in the Wallaroos Pac4 campaign.
"From last weekend and seeing her in that [Super Rugby Women's] final, she looks so much more composed now," Yapp said. "She's had so much game time for Waratahs which has been great to see, and in a final which ultimately is against internationals, against local Fijian internationals, she did a great job there.
"She's just learning and much more composed in her games so when she makes mistakes, she's able to get over those mistakes a lot better and she just got that all round game at the moment which we want to continue to develop."
Now with her first squad in place, all eyes turn to Yapp's first Test in charge in just over a week's time in Sydney when the Wallaroos take on Canada in their quest to WXV1 and World Cup qualification.
"We're under no illusions it's a tough turn around. Canada and USA have been in camp for a while. They're going to come off the back of a fixture against each other as well as friendlies, but all we can do is control what we can and ultimately, we need to obviously finish third to get a place in WXV1, which is what we're aiming to do.
"Obviously they're top four side so we knew they were going to be a strong opposition. They've got players coming back from the sevens to fit in with that 15 squad as well and I think that makes a difference. They're a fit side and they got stronger as the game went on. We're obviously expecting a tough game."
While just one from the three-game competition could see them through to the WXV1, a first up win over the No.4 team in the world would show Yapp and the Wallaroos are heading in the right direction.