Sophie Stapleford is still pinching herself as she prepares for a debut national league season with the Newcastle Jets at 28.
The Cessnock teacher's aide is one of 10 new faces among the 17 contracted players on coach Ash Wilson's roster.
The journey has been an inspiring one of overcoming adversity and never giving up.
Stapleford, who captains Maitland in NPLW Northern NSW, is a brain tumour survivor.
In 2015, the then 21-year-old was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in her sinus cavity which required risky surgery to be removed.
Two years later, the lethal attacker made her playing return.
"It feels surreal still," Stapleford said at Jets training this week.
"I never really thought I would get back here.
"A lot of people said that I wouldn't play the game again, so it's emotional but I'm excited for it. All of the hard work has paid off."
Stapleford scored an equal team-high 12 goals in 16 appearances for the Magpies this year and was one of a handful of NPLW NNSW players invited by Wilson into an elite training group where she showed enough to earn a Jets contract.
"Ash spoke to me and said she wanted to give me the contract and I honestly had no words," Stapleford said.
"It took a few days to sink in. It felt good as well after all of that hard work, all the adversities that I've been through ... one of my main goals after surgery was I just wanted to play soccer again.
"Another goal was to instil positivity everywhere I go. I always thought that I could keep going but the journey has been a lot longer and a lot harder than I anticipated. I'm glad I stuck to it."
Offering a place on her roster was as special for the coach as it was for the player.
"It was probably one of my most rewarding moments as a coach to be able to tell Soph that I had a contract for her, just knowing her background, knowing how much she'd been through and obviously how hard she'd worked," Wilson said.
"She earned it."
Like many of her teammates, Stapleford is balancing ALW commitments with full-time work.
The Jets are three weeks into a five-week pre-season, training five days a week with an additional two gym sessions and matchplay on the weekends.
"It's a lot," Stapleford said. "It's a big workload but I'm adjusting. The girls are great. They've all been so welcoming. The spirits are high and I'm really excited for the season.
"For myself, I just want to keep getting better and pushing myself."
Stapleford can play in an attacking midfield role, wide or up front and is likely to get her first minutes against ALW opposition when the Jets play Western Sydney in a trial on Saturday.
