Kennedy Cherrington's rugby union career was at a crossroads this time last year, but as she prepares to make her State of Origin debut for NSW she knows she made the right decision to switch codes.
The 22-year-old was coming off a Super W campaign with the NSW Waratahs when the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to the competition just before the grand final last year.
It left her with a hollow feeling, and she was unsure if she wanted to go back to the sport she had played since being forced to switch from rugby league as a 12-year-old.
But when that door closed, another one opened, leading to a NSWRL season with Cronulla, an NRLW season with Sydney Roosters, All Stars representation and now her debut for the Blues.
"I made a very hard decision to jump in the deep end. It's been the best decision I've made," Cherrington told AAP of her code switch.
"We finished the regular season in Super W and won by default, which doesn't do much.
"They just kicked off again, it's been a year and a bit for some of those players, so I'm kind of glad I've gone the right path.
"I'm glad I've made the right decision and it's actually worked out."
Before joining the Waratahs, Cherrington was a part of the Australia squad and aiming to play Sevens in Tokyo before the pandemic hit.
Two knee injuries derailed the union dream, but the pandemic was a literal game changer.
"I was looking at Tokyo and getting a contract there," she said."
"I was close, but I had two big knee injuries set me off there, that's when I made the transition to Waratahs, I was doing good, it just didn't feel like my environment."
Although she competed at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas in 2017, she says the competition between NSW and Queensland is more intense.
And it's that hatred between states she will relish in Friday night's women's Origin clash at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
"As a 17-year-old I thought (Youth Commonweath Games) was a massive opportunity, and it was the base step of my career, but this, the rivalry is different," she said.
"It feels different. You've got that hatred, that competitiveness with Queensland.
"There's respect there between us, but not until after the game."
Australian Associated Press
