November 9, 2019, will always be the most special day of my entire life. 

Starting my footballing journey at the age of nine, the 10-hour round trips for weekly training, leaving home at 16, playing overseas, balancing playing two sports that I loved at an elite level, winning the inaugural AFLW premiership, losing my passion for football and almost giving it up entirely... I thought the day might never come.

Then, all the sacrifices, character-building experiences and soul searching had finally culminated in me achieving my lifelong dream, when I debuted for Australia. 

Looking back now, it's crazy to think about how I finally got to the peak of my football career, and if you’ve been following my Olympic Diaries, I hope I've given you a snapshot of the good, bad, and great in my life because they have all been stepping stones that paved the way for me to get where I am today. 

If I didn’t have that terrible experience in Norway where I wanted to give up football, I wouldn’t have found my strong faith which helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life, but back to my long-awaited international debut!

I made my Australian National Team debut with The Matildas in a friendly match against Chile in front of 20,000 fans.

I became cap No. 205 that day, and we defeated Chile 2-1. 

My family had flown from Adelaide to Bankwest Stadium in Sydney, which truly meant so much to me.

For my family to be there in person to share in all of the emotions post-match was such a great feeling. All elite athletes know that their support network is so vital to their success, and my family are my greatest supporters.

Having them there, made me reflect on the thousands of kilometres my parents travelled taking me the 10-hour round trip to Adelaide and back to Mount Gambier when I was a kid, and the many sacrifices they made to help me succeed in my career.

I simply wouldn’t have been standing in that green and gold jersey, on that field, doing what I loved, without them.

I was then selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification tournament.

We had to face Thailand, Chinese Taipei and China in our group stage, then face Vietnam in our playoff series for one of the last two qualification spots. There were only three spots for countries from Asia to participate in the Olympic Games, with Japan automatically qualifying as hosts. 

I played the first two games against Thailand and Chinese Tapei which resulted in convincing wins and sat on the bench for the final round game against China, where we needed a draw or win to finish top of our group.

That game ended in a 1-1 draw which saw us come out on top of our group. That meant we would face Vietnam in a home and away series, as they had come second in Group B.

Our first game saw us beat Vietnam 5-0, but we still had to travel to their home country and play the away leg.

We just scraped through with a 2-1 win, which meant we had secured our spot to Tokyo.

It was an incredible moment and an amazing tournament, which poured even more fuel onto the fire burning inside of me, wanting to secure my spot in the final squad of 18 for Tokyo 2020.

It made me think back to being a kid, watching the Olympics on TV, not quite understanding the significance of what that tournament meant to those athletes, but now it had much greater meaning.

I had a newfound respect and appreciation for the Games, after experiencing what it takes and how it feels to represent your country.

Unfortunately, as we all know, COVID-19 brought everything to a halt not long after and to be brutally honest, it's been tough. 

I’ve had good days and I’ve certainly had bad days. Training solo, without anyone there to tell you what to do, has tested me unlike anything has before, but, on the flip side, I’ve trained harder than I ever have.

Being selected for the Olympics has been a constant driving force because representing my country at Tokyo 2020 is what all the blood, sweat and tears are ultimately for. But, during those months where I had no set date on when I could re-join a team, travel interstate or internationally, I found it hard to see a way through it.

Nevertheless,  I'd force myself to get up and train, rain, hail or shine. In fact, there were mornings I'd still train when the grass was covered in ice.

With the resumption of international football occurring in late June, I knew that my best chance at Olympic selection was going to come from more overseas experience.

I was offered the chance to play in Spain for Spanish giants, Real Betis, in the country's top league. I obviously jumped at the opportunity.

I was able to test myself physically and mentally again and play consistent game minutes leading up to Tokyo 2020.

It was such a big move for me and I knew that by doing it I was giving myself every possible chance of selection in the Olympic squad. 

Now I'm back home and ready for another season of W-League, the months ahead are vital for me to remain fit and in form.

Football is a tough industry, there will be players who work so hard to be there and miss out, so my focus remains on what I can do to be in that squad.

It was such a huge honour to finally represent Australia at an international, but to do it on the world’s biggest sporting stage, would truly be the highlight of my career.

For now, the work continues, my mind remains positive, focused and I’ll continue to grind away one day at a time.