On Saturday, Kayla Henderson arrived at McDonald Jones Stadium as a reserve with no expectation of seeing any game time.
Minutes before kick-off, everything changed.
Named as the Wests Tigers 19th player for their Round 8 clash against the Newcastle Knights, Henderson was preparing alongside the squad when Namoe Gesa was ruled out during warm-up.
The late withdrawal meant Henderson was suddenly thrust into the starting line up for just her second NRLW appearance.
“I was out in the warm-up, and I saw Namoe get pulled out. My first thought was, ‘You’re on. You’re going to get pulled in,’” Henderson said.
“I just tried to stay calm because I started freaking out a little bit.”
For Wests Tigers NRLW Head Coach Craig Sandercock, it was a situation he had encountered just once before in more than two decades of coaching.
“In the 25 years I’ve been around the game. It’s only happened to me maybe once before,” Sandercock said.
“It’s very rare, but that’s why you’ve got those players there on game day, because those things can happen.
“You’ve just got to be ready to step up if you need to.”
That next-player-up mentality has been spoken about throughout the season, and Henderson did exactly that, playing the full game despite having only minutes to prepare.
Sandercock said the wider squad is always prepared for moments like this, with every member of the game-day squad involved throughout the week.
“They’ve all trained in different positions before, and that 19-person squad is there for every video session and every game-planning session, so they know what to expect,” he said.
“It’s just getting the mindset right. In the back of your mind, you’re probably thinking you’re not playing, then all of a sudden you get the call-up.
“It was a really solid game from Kayla.
“She’s one of our development players, so it was a massive ask for her to do that.”
The circumstances made the afternoon even more significant for Henderson, who grew up in Newcastle and spent last season playing for the Knights in the NSW Women’s Premiership.
“It is home. That’s where I grew up, so it was good to get back there,” Henderson said.
The late call-up continued a whirlwind few weeks for Henderson.
Only weeks earlier, she was working her way back from an AC joint injury before returning through the NSW Women’s Premiership.
The following week, Henderson would make her NRLW debut, playing the full match in the Tigers 30-22 win over the Warriors.
A week later, Henderson was unexpectedly called into the side against her former club.
“I wouldn’t have pictured that it would happen, but it’s really exciting knowing that I have put in a lot of work for it,” Henderson said.
“I wasn’t expecting it, especially three weeks ago when I was coming back from injury, going into the NSW Women’s Premiership for one game and then getting told the next week that I was debuting.
Due to the last-minute nature of the call-up, Henderson’s support crew, including her father, hadn’t made the trip to McDonald Jones Stadium, but they made sure they were tuned in to watch the 19-year-old play.
“Dad messaged me and said he was really proud of me. All my friends were keeping a close eye on it too.”
For Henderson, the whole experience was quite special.
“It was unreal,” she said.
“Even though I knew I wasn’t playing at first, I was just thinking, ‘I really want to beat them’, because it’s my old club.
“We went into it with a lot of people doubting that we could get it done.
“For Rae (McGregor) to get her first field goal as well, it was just insane. It was so exciting for the girls.”
