Wendy Rix planned to retire from hockey following the 2022 season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But a lacklustre campaign which saw her Parkes side finish outside of the finals made her reassess things.
In the end, she decided to give the game she's played for more than two decades another crack.
"I thought there was the potential for this team to go really well, so I stuck it out for one more season," Rix said.
Turns out, she made the right decision.
Parkes' 2-1 win over Orange CYMS on September 2 secured them a spot in the Central West Premier League Hockey grand final.
This will be the first time Rix has made it this far in the competition since she was a Charles Sturt University student playing for Souths.
"It's been a long time coming," the now 43-year-old said.
The road to this point was anything but easy, for both Rix and the club itself.
Despite finishing in the top three for best and fairest voting for in 2014, Rix found herself playing Parkes B grade hockey just three years later.
But after the club made the decision to revive its Premier League side after a hiatus from the competition, Rix's eyes lit up.
"I felt like I still had a bit in the tank and I wanted to revive the Premier League back in our town," she said.
"There was just so much potential that I thought I'd give back and get back into it."
That potential was certainly on display during their preliminary finals victory. But it came as no surprise to Rix who has seen the town's love of hockey grow through her teaching role at Parkes High School.
So while there's still plenty of old heads like Rix and goal-keeper Amy Thornberry contributing to the success, the youth is what makes this run so promising for Parkes' future.
"I'm playing with kids that are actually younger than my own kids. It makes me feel pretty old," Rix said with a smile.
"On the flip of it, it's kinda good because I know that I'm up for a challenge and if I can still put on the boots and play hockey against young kids, then I've still got something left in the tank."
The victory over CYMS set Parkes up for a grand final showdown against the undefeated Lithgow Panthers. It will be Rix's first grand final with a club which has yet to taste premiership success.
Despite their underdog tag, the versatile centre-half believes if they can be at their best for a full 60 minutes, then anything can happen.
"It would be absolutely incredible and would polish off the year for sure," Rix said.
"Never say never."
The grand final will start at 12.20pm on September 9 at the Bathurst Hockey Complex.
Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens.
Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.