Hackers nearly prevented gutsy Newcastle five-eighth Georgia Roche from earning a shot at a slice of NRLW history.
Roche can become the first English player to win the women's competition after her journey from West Yorkshire to Sunday's NRLW grand final almost ended before it had started.
The 23-year-old signed a five-year contract - the equal-longest deal in the competition's history - with the Knights earlier this year.
But while she was awaiting approval to fly to Australia, a routine police check needed to rubberstamp her visa turned into a drawn-out ordeal.
"I applied to get a police certificate and the website had just gone under a cyber attack," Roche told AAP.
"There was a massive backlog because of that, and it was pretty suspicious because you have to transfer your money for the certificate to a random bank account.
"At times it went through my head, 'Is this year going to be a write off?' I thought I'd have to wait until next year.
"I was following it up for weeks and when I finally got it, I was on a flight two days later."
Roche arrived at Newcastle the week before round one and while most players would pay a small fortune to skip pre-season training, the playmaker was desperate to make an impression.
The English Test star came with plenty of hype, her lengthy deal reflective of the fact she had won Super League's Woman of Steel when she was just 18.
The delayed start to life in Australia - Roche made her debut in round three and has enjoyed a 7-0 record since - means she doesn't feel the NRLW has seen the best of her yet.
As Newcastle chase a second-straight premiership, Sunday's grand final against Gold Coast could be the perfect platform to justify her billing.
"I know I have a lot more to give and I need to start showing that," she said.
"I'm not satisfied yet. I know it's been about taking one step at a time but I'm sure everything will click, especially in my position."
Roche's mother, Charlotte, will arrive in Australia on Friday, while the playmaker is expecting a healthy crew of family and friends to be watching back at home in Batley.
The neighbouring town of Dewsbury spawned its own success story in Australia with South Sydney's Burgess brothers in 2014.
"I'd like to do that (win a premiership) ... if a little bit more rugby league news comes from there, it would be good for Batley," Roche said.
