Sydney Roosters star Jess Sergis will be taking on some of her best mates when the Tricolours clash with St George Illawarra in Sunday's NRLW grand final but the former Golden Boot winner would not have it any other way.
Sergis made a high-profile switch to Bondi for this season after three years with the Dragons and there will be no quarter asked for or given when the two sides clash in Redcliffe.
"I'm stoked they're there because if there was anyone I wanted to play in the grand final, it was them," she said.
"Kezie [Apps] is one of my best friends and being so close to her, we both said congratulations on Monday and that we'd see each other on game day.
"They're the enemy this week, so we have to put those friendships aside and all those other thoughts aside and just focus on the end goal.
"We've had a few appearances together and we flew up on the same plane and it's a bit of a weird feeling because we're all keeping our distance.
Flicking the switch is something the Roosters have become well-acquainted with in recent weeks.
Their incredible victory over the Broncos in the preliminary final was the greatest upset in the competition's history and was made all the more remarkable given they trailed 16-0 in less than 13 minutes.
Overturning that deficit convinced the rugby league world of something Sergis says the Roosters knew all along – that despite their rocky road into the finals, this was a premiership-calibre team.
"Down 16-0 with one in the bin, it was time to switch on. We believed in our ability and what we could do, and switching that mentality and working for each other got us back in the game. It just kind of happened. It's definitely up there with the best games I've ever played in.
"From day one, and I've been in a lot of teams, but when I came to the Roosters I felt so welcomed by the club and the girls that we really gelled well together.
"I think we knew our own ability, we knew what we could do, and it's such a short competition you have to be on from the start.
"But we've kept building and growing, and we know what we can do. That's what we know, so that keeps us positive."
The Dragons enter the decider as warm favourites, but the Roosters will be powered by their own sense of history – like St George Illawarra, the Bondi side are yet to win a women's premiership.
Sergis is one of the few with grand final experience after she played in the 2019 decider with the Dragons, and is hitting top form at just the right time.
She had few clear scoring chances in the preliminary final but her work rate and physicality were exceptional, especially late in the match.
Focusing on the process of winning rather than winning itself, she explains, will be the key for John Strange's side to snag the upset.
"The Roosters are such a great club, they go above and beyond for their players and staff and they've done everything they can to put us in a position to win," Sergis said.
"To pay them back with a trophy would be the cherry on top. For us girls as a whole, none of us have experienced that yet here.
"We all say we want it, and we do, but I spoke to Corey Parker at the Dally M's and he said everyone wants to win but it's the process that gets you there.
"That's really stuck with me. I don't want to get carried away with the end goal."
