The reigning Illawarra League premiers made the self-funded journey to the Northern Hemisphere after three of the Ravens planned trial matches fell through.

It left them facing the prospect of heading to the World Cup without a single game under their belt. They ultimately split two clashes with the Cougars 1-1 in an invaluable pre-Cup hit-out.

It played no small part in the Ravens advancing to the semi-finals of the tournament. 

The Cougars will play another important role when they take on the Ravens in an opposed session on Saturday ahead of their David and Goliath semi-final clash with Australia on Sunday.

Castle said the Ravens remain indebted to the Cougars for helping them exceed pre-tournament expectations.

“It was extremely vital. We wouldn’t be where we are now and having the experience we’re having now without that opportunity,” Castle said

“We really owe a huge thanks to Corrimal. It was a huge effort and Tammy Fletcher and all the girls and staff who came over… we had a great time with them and there’s a lot of great people at the club.

“We’re looking forward to seeing them on Saturday and having a bit of a run against them. They’ve been at our games cheering us on which has been really good.

“There is a good bond and some good friendships made which is great.”

The Ravens are the third World Cup squad to set up camp in Wollongong during the tournament alongside the PNG Orchids and Australia.

They advanced to the semi-final with a win over the Orchids and also kept New Zealand to just 12 points at halftime in their pool clash.

They were on the wrong end of an 88-0 scoreline against Australia on Wednesday but Castle is confident the return of some key personnel will ensure a stronger showing in Sunday’s rematch.

Andrea Burke, Sabrina McDaid, Natasha Smith, Nina Bui and Nat Tam are all set to return while skipper Mandy Marchak will also play a larger role having started Wednesday’s match from the bench.

“We had two big physical games against New Zealand and Papua New Guinea,” Castle said.

“We had the short turnaround and we needed to give some players a rest knowing we had another short turnaround heading into the semi-final.

“We’re still in very early stages of our rugby league careers and  we wanted make sure everyone got experience playing in a World Cup.

“It was a disappointing result, but Australia were just outstanding. We learned a lot from it and, with the inclusion of some key members of the squad, I’m hopeful we can give them a bit of a game.”