For the Western Force, it was the perfect news on the eve of its Super Rugby season.
"We were on the bus having just arrived into Canberra and there was a bit of a 'wahoo' on the bus," Force captain Feleti Kaitu'u said of Western Australia's plan to reopen its border in March.
"We are all battling with our own struggles, whether it be with family or whatever, and being able to go home without having to quarantine will be a lift to the boys' spirits," he said.
Before Friday's announcement, the Force were staring at the prospect of having to repeatedly navigate border difficulties for the third season running.
Now the squad knows it can return to relative normality once the border comes down on March 3 — with quarantine-free interstate and international travel resuming from that date.
The Force are far from the only West Australian sporting team breathing an enormous sigh of relief thanks to the relaxation of restrictions.
Under WA's hard border, some teams — including clubs made up of part-time or semi-professional players who have had to step away from day jobs to continue competing — have been forced to spend weeks or even months interstate.
Sporting events fall by the wayside
Major events have fallen by the wayside, with an Ashes Test, a one-day international cricket match and scores of Scorchers, Glory and Wildcats games among those lost because of the restrictions, while a handful of smaller sports were forced to cancel their seasons.
Perth Glory invested big money in former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, hoping the big-name drawcard would boost attendances, but months into his stay he has only played at home once.
But with a return home on the horizon, the club is hoping to make up for lost time.
"You saw the first game where we sold out versus Adelaide and we are hoping when he comes back in a couple of weeks that we can get big crowds back," Glory chief executive Tony Pignata said.
"We really want the supporters to come out and welcome back the team after being away since November."
Both the A-League men's and women's sides have faced extremely long tenures on the road to keep their seasons going during border restrictions, something the club admitted had taken a toll.
"From a mental point of view it has been tough," Pignata said.
WA's cricket sides have also faced extended periods away, but can now complete their domestic seasons without additional stints in quarantine.
And for the sport's governing body, the decision provides certainty ahead of a busy calendar next summer — highlighted by Perth being one of the host cities for the Twenty20 World Cup.
"It is nice to know we have got pretty much six months to get used to the new normal and prepare for next season," WA Cricket Association chief executive Christina Matthews said.
"It gives our members and fans something to look forward to."
But the border decision came with one new difficulty for sporting teams — with crowd capacity restrictions returning from Monday.
The 75 per cent cap means AFL at Perth Stadium will be capped around 45,000 people, while it will be around 15,000 for Force and Glory matches at Perth Oval and in the vicinity of 10,000 for Wildcats and West Coast Fever games at Perth Arena.
Plus, there remains a possibility those restrictions will be tightened if the COVID situation escalates severely.
But the Eagles and Dockers can now look forward to a somewhat normal AFL season, without the need for hubs and short notice border hopping.
"It means our teams will now be able to travel freely in and out of WA and bring a degree of normalcy back to our training programs," Dockers chief executive Simon Garlick said.
"The safety of the community has always been the WA government's priority and we will continue to do everything on our end to keep our players, staff and the community safe."
