From a youth campdrafting and mustering on the family’s 19,000 acre station outside Queensland’s Glenmorgan, to a life under lights co-captaining Australia’s Women’s Rugby 7s team, The Pearls; Demi Hayes is living proof that geographical isolation doesn’t beat talent and hard work.

While she now lives a long way from the beef property she grew up on, the 25 year old has taken many lessons with her from paddock to the pitch – including her leadership style learned in the cattle yards, which will see her take her team to the 2024 Paris Olympics.