Hannah Southwell has played in two NRLW grand finals with the Sydney Roosters.
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She then watched injured from the sidelines as her Newcastle teammates made club history by winning last year's premiership.
Now, the 24-year-old Knights captain and lock is set to lead her home-town side into grand final battle at Accor Stadium next Sunday afternoon.
It is a moment the Kotara Bears junior has only dreamt about until now.
"It's pretty surreal," Southwell said after Newcastle beat Brisbane 30-24 in their sudden death semi-final at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
"I'm getting goosebumps now. To do it for your home town, where you're born, and to do it on the biggest stage is something that you can only dream of.
"And, to do it not only with a great group of girls but your little sister as well is something that you just want to do growing up, and I can't wait."
Southwell ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in round one of the 2022 season.
She returned in round three this year after a lengthy rehabilitation process.
"It hurts missing a grand final, especially for your home town, so to get there is a remarkable feat for our club and I guess also myself," Southwell said.
The five-time NSW representative and twice-capped Jillaroo said a team-first mentality has been one of Newcastle's strengths during a history-making season.
They head into the grand final against the Gold Coast Titans on an eight-game winning streak and after securing the club's first minor premiership, for men or women.
Southwell produced a captain's performance on Sunday. It included her first try in 24 NRLW appearances.
After spying a gap in Brisbane's line, she charged through it to score in the 10th minute to the delight of a deafening 12,689 fans.
The crowd was a record for a stand-alone NRLW match.
Younger sister and Knights star halfback Jesse described the moment post-match as "the coolest thing" she has seen in rugby league.
For Southwell, she was simply determined to seal Newcastle another grand final appearance.
"It's been a long time but I'm not in games to score tries," Southwell said.
"I just want to make sure I do my job and compete with the girls next to me and make sure we get the job done."
Knights coach Ron Griffiths praised his captain's defensive resolve to help hold out Brisbane in the latter stages of the semi-final.
"The message came up that she's paddling a little bit and might need a spell, but then we just asked her to stay to tighten things up in the middle and that's what she did, so it shows the mental toughness to be able to get through that block for us," Griffiths said.
