Cassidy Davis believes "luck" has played a significant role in her record run of soon-to-be 100 consecutive A-League appearances.
But the 27-year-old's milestone effort is also testament to hard work.
The home-grown Newcastle Jets co-captain and defensive midfielder has held the national league record for most consecutive matches since passing Marianna Tabain's previous highest mark of 96 in March.
She will extend that to 100, all which have been played in home-town colours, when the Jets play Western Sydney at Blacktown Football Park on Friday.
"Obviously, you need the ability but you can always improve on your ability," Davis said.
"If you don't have that mentality and that work ethic, sometimes coaches can't get that into you. That comes from yourself. That's probably what's got me to where I am.
"I'm not that type of player who's got the flair and that X factor. I'm just a consistent player and do my job. I definitely think my work ethic and determination is probably what has got me to this point."
It has been "a long nine years" since Davis made her debut in the 2013-14 W-League at Magic Park.
She came off the bench to replace injured midfielder Grace Macintyre.
Perseverance and dedication got her there and have been key to an unbreakable journey.
"I remember the first season I tried out for the Jets with [coaches] Pete [McGuinness] and Sully [Wayne O'Sullivan], I trained all pre-season and they turned me away and said come back next year," Davis said.
"Then Pete said, 'You've done all you can, I've got to sign you'. To come off the bench, I thought I'm not there yet. That I obviously needed a few more games experience and to keep working towards it.
"After I went on, I started the next game I'm pretty sure and from then on I started every game. I was kind of shocked that I was straight into it in my first season and obviously being young, but we did have a young team.
"Just working hard and putting everything I can into my training and games has paid off."
There have been plenty of highs and lows along the way. That has included a semi-final appearance in 2017-18 as well as collecting the wooden spoon.
The Jets are targeting a return to finals football this campaign after a three-season absence and showed they are capable of achieving the goal with an emphatic 5-1 win over newcomers Wellington at McDonald Jones Stadium last Friday.
Davis would love nothing more than to mark her 100th milestone occasion with another win against the Wanderers.
Newcastle then face Phoenix again in round four on December 27 at Central Coast Stadium.
"We have to continue building on last week," Davis said. "We could've put more goals against Wellington and we need to be aware of the little mistakes that we're still making that we need to be better with.
"As everyone says, you've just got to take each game as it comes. But, if we can get three points against Wanderers and again against Wellington, we're in a good position heading into the new year."
Wanderers, who include Newcastle's Libby Copus-Brown, will be desperate for points after opening their season with a scoreless draw against Phoenix before losing 2-0 to Sydney last round.
The Jets have had a disrupted week due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Newcastle but should have every player available other than young gun Kirsty Fenton.
The 18-year-old defender was forced from the field in her second A-League match last week with an ankle injury and has since tested positive for COVID.
"It's hard not to keep yourself away from teammates and we all work and have to be out in the community in some way," Davis said.
"It's all blown up in the past couple of days and I've tried to stay home. But some stuff you can't control, so we're just going with it and doing what we can to be as safe as possible.
"The club are doing what they can as well for us to make sure that we're all ready to play."
Tiana Jaber is a likely replacement for Fenton.
Jaber comes back into calculations after serving a one-match suspension for two yellow card offences in Newcastle's 3-1 loss to the Sky Blues in round one.
Jets teammates Emily van Egmond and Sunny Franco are set to make their 100th and 50th national league appearances against Wanderers. Both have played for other clubs.
The game is at 5.05pm.
