Last year Alex Chidiac and her Matilda's team-mates captivated and inspired the nation over an incredible and history-making month that will live long in the memory.
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On Monday the midfielder was inspiring local schoolgirls at a special Women in Sport community event.
Organised by Centacare New England North West's Women in Sport program, primary and secondary students from schools across Tamworth and surrounds including Quirindi and Manilla, and even as far as Armidale got the chance to hear from and meet the soccer star.
"We're really big on community events so for us being able to bring an elite athlete to Tamworth, it's something that girls especially don't have the chance to have," Centacare NENW's WIS Project Officer Ally Farr explained.
"It was really just a chance for the girls to be able to experience someone of Alex's calibre coming and being really personable and spending that time with them and hopefully inspiring them."
Held at the Sports Dome, the show court was abuzz with excitement while the Leader was there, as the youngsters lined up to share a moment with the 33-cap Matilda, who was the same age as some of them when she made her senior national debut (she was 16 when she made her first appearance).
Meaghan Hawley is just a year shy of that.
The 15-year-old was part of the Manilla Central School contingent that came across for the event.
"It was good to hear about her story, and the obstacles she overcame to become the athlete she is today," Hawley said.
It's certainly inspired her in her own sporting endeavours.
Hawley played a bit of soccer when she was younger but doesn't really these days.
But, like school-mates Taya Burns, 12, and Zari Keighran, 12, she just loves sport and was gripped by Matilda's fever during their wonderful World Cup run.
After talking about her journey to becoming an elite footballer, Chidiac then partook in a Q&A session with the students.
"Everybody in the stadium just about put their hand up to ask questions," Farr said.
"So it was really nice to just have that interaction with her and just so that the girls can hear that story and see what that hard work looks like and how it can pay off for them as well."
One of the questions that really stood out to her was whether Chidiac was bullied by the boys for playing in a boys team.
In an all too familiar story, she started off playing with boys because there weren't any girls teams around.
Her visit was the final event for the WIS program, which was introduced in mid-2022 but has now finished up.
