PNG Orchids rugby league hero Elsie Alberts set to star for Dragons in NRLW grand final this weekend

Since Elsie Albert pulled on the Red V jersey, the number of women playing rugby league has tripled in Papua New Guinea.

Now, it is set to soar to even greater heights when she takes to the field for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRLW grand final against the Sydney Roosters in north Brisbane this weekend.

The Papua New Guinea Orchids women's national rugby league captain has starred in the short six-week NRLW season, producing some crunching tackles and tries.

«I am so excited because this will be the first time I will play in [the] grand final,» she said.

«For us it means a lot, we have been working hard to get these results and to finally get it, we are so happy and ready to go.»

Almost 3,000 kilometres away Elsie Albert's parents, family and friends are preparing to gather around a tv screen in Morata, a suburb of Port Moresby, to cheer on their national hero.

«Everyone is excited back home, with me being here it is a big boost for the female's game back home,» she said.

The prop joined the NRLW last year and she said it caused a major increase in the number of women playing in PNG.

«Since last year when I moved down here to play in the NRLW, the number of women's players has tripled,» Albert said.

«Seeing the pathways that have been created, it's a big achievement for me and to see the number triple is very important.»

«Most definitely everyone is going to be getting together at the house and I know they are going to be cheering for me and Dragons.»

«I have asked them to take some pictures and send them to me before the game.

»I talk to them three or four times a week, they are really happy and proud of me to have this success in the NRLW and to be in my first grand final."

Part of the team's success has been attributed