Katie Robinson was happy on the sidelines.
The former national league netballer even twice knocked back the offer of returning to the court in what was to be a year off.
But after answering an SOS from her beloved Nova, the experienced midcourter is feeling "proud" to be lining up for Thunder when the Newcastle championship netball finals begin.
"I love this club," Robinson, who turns 39 on Friday, said. "I've been a part of this club for a long time, since its inception really, so I couldn't let it go. But I also really knew that I needed a break.
"I think that was honestly the first time I hadn't been around the netball courts on a Saturday for 35 years."
The break ended mid-July when Nova lost midcourters Jess Regan (knee) and Maddy Dunn (elbow) to season-ending injuries and Nova's finals hopes looked in strife. That was when player-coach Laura Glendenning issued a call-out to Robinson.
"I was still on the group chat and when everyone kept hurting themselves I was wondering how she was going to fix it, and then I found out," Robinson said.
"I did say no twice then eventually said yes. It probably came down to the fact that Laura took over what I think is a pretty big job being head coach and still playing and having a family, so I couldn't let her miss the opportunity to do this successfully just because she doesn't have enough players.
"So I came back. My first two games were pretty hesitant but finally it started to feel a bit more normal again, which is nice."
Nova finished the regular season third and play fourth-placed West Leagues Balance in the do-or-die minor semi-final at National Park on Saturday while minor premiers Souths take on second-placed University of Newcastle in the major semi-final. It is the first time finals have been played since 2019 due to COVID.
"I'm actually quite proud to get out there on Saturday and play and know that I've helped allow us be in the finals, that's pretty good," Robinson said.
"We've had some good wins. We've knocked off a couple of teams we haven't knocked off before. We've had some good luck as well. But finals is a different story. I know our team are going to be ready."
Nova and West have won one each in two encounters this year.
The winner of their semi-final on Saturday will meet the loser of the major duel in the preliminary final on August 27.
