Emma Stanbury considers Canberra her home off the field but a new chapter on the field is unfolding for the midfielder, after she put pen to paper on a deal with Adelaide United.
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She left Sydney's NPLW competition last year during COVID-19 and returned to Canberra's NPLW, before choosing to stay for a second season.
Stanbury hoped to regain her spot in Canberra United's line up in 2020-21, but a changing of the guard from Heather Garriock to Vicki Linton last year left her without one.
"When it happened with Canberra last year, I actually didn't reach out to other clubs. I just needed that, I think, mental break and time off," she said.
"Because I care a lot about Canberra and it's actually where I want to set my future up and live, but I've bounced back and here I am in Adelaide.
"I'm going in with the most mature head I've probably ever had. For the first time I'm not going out to impress anyone. I just want to go out, have a great time and focus on Adelaide rather than trying to impress other clubs. They're the ones that have given me the opportunity, so I see them as my family now.
"I love Canberra, that's my home but when it comes to football, Adelaide is my home now."
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The 30-year-old's move to South Australia for the upcoming ALW season was not a decision she made lightly, with border restrictions imposed on Canberrans travelling to the state.
Along with giving up her job and leaving behind her fiancé to pursue her career on the field, something she said was challenging.
However, Stanbury's return to Viking Park will come on January 8, when Adelaide faces off against Canberra.
"I'm just going to try and make my friends and family proud, and ... I know I'll see them all in the stands then and hopefully do that," she said.
"I was speaking to two other clubs, and I had an offer with one, but I held off. I had a lot of conversations with [Adrian] Stenta, as I'm the type of player that enjoys being able to build a good relationship with a coach because when I feel like they care about me as a person, it makes me perform.
"So that made me also want to come to Adelaide a lot more, because he's really communicative and very transparent."
Before the coronavirus shut down the ACT for several weeks, Stanbury had been training with the Monaro Panthers FC NPL side to keep her fitness up.
And she now finds herself about halfway into her 14-day quarantine stint in Adelaide, before her side's December 5 kickoff.
"Those three months were quite hard. I took up my one hour of exercise and it was a lot of running but I kind of focused on my strengths, I just run for days," she said.
"I kept my cardio up and tried to do a bit of body weight but transitioning to quarantine with the gym that the club's provided us, I've had a pretty sore body.
"We're seven days away from going in with the girls. I'm just super keen to get in there and then it's only two weeks until the season starts. So it's happening really fast."
Adelaide will be looking to build on their successful campaign last season, which saw the club narrowly miss making a historical first finals campaign.
Under Stenta the side finished fifth behind Canberra, with one goal being the deciding factor to push the ACT side into the finals.
Stanbury is hoping her experience can help aid the team to get their first ALW finals berth.
"I feel really privileged because Adelaide doesn't usually look too far into interstate players, as they're a very home-grown based club," she said.
"They have been working on that for many years and we could see the progress of that last season.
"They are a relatively young squad, they've got a couple of players in their mid-20s but I'm going to be oldest. So it might just be that edge to help them get over the line, because the younger girls, it will come with time, but that game management and recognising what points are needed."