Georgia Hannaway missed rugby league every day as she toured the world as a sevens player and, on the eve of the NRLW grand final, harbours no regrets over her code switch.
Hannaway joined Cronulla for her rookie NRLW season after an impressive first campaign with Queensland Rugby League Women's Premiership runners-up Norths Devils.
Until joining the Devils, Hannaway had been regarded a sevens star of the future, first playing for Australia at 18 in the Dubai leg of the 2019/20 world series.
But Hannaway's heart had always been in rugby league, with the Queenslander only choosing to focus on sevens during high school for its more favourable career prospects.
"I was juggling league and sevens but there wasn't too much opportunity for league at that time and sevens was taking off," she told AAP.
"But I did miss league every day. I always looked back on it and the moment I got a chance to come back, I just took it."
Hannaway linked up with former sevens stars Tiana Penitani and Emma Tonegato on arrival at the Sharks but was brought back to earth after three games in the side.
An ankle issue sidelined the 23-year-old just as she had a chance to cement a place in the spine following Jada Taylor's season-ending knee injury.
"It was pretty upsetting. You almost feel guilty sitting on the sidelines," Hannaway said.
She returned in round eight to a side that, a week earlier, had had its six-game unbeaten start to the season abruptly broken by a 40-0 shellacking from the Sydney Roosters - Sunday's grand final opponents.
Hannaway credits Cronulla's subsequent three-game losing streak for sparking the side to a 14-0 upset defeat of Brisbane in last Sunday's grand final qualifier.
"Those three games where we were the losers, we just kind of all came in together and we just said like we don't want to feel that anymore, so we just did whatever we could to try and not feel that," Hannaway said.
Now, on the cusp of premiership glory, Hannaway takes a moment to reflect on a whirlwind 12 months, and a homecoming to the code of her childhood.
"(There's) no regrets," she said.
"The game is just awesome and I just really enjoy it and just the team culture that you can have, you have so many games throughout the whole year, training is just so much fun.
"I haven't regretted my decision at all."
