The contract will see her don the red v for the inaugural NRL Women’s Premiership in September but, while most players sign their first NRL deal in an office or a Leagues Club, Bulli-raised Brooker saved the moment she inked the deal for someone special.

“I went down to Dad’s grave this morning because I wanted to have that special moment with him signing it,” Brooker told Kickoff on Wednesday. 

“It hasn’t quite hit me yet. I’ve had to keep it a secret for the last week, when this comes out it will probably hit me then because I know how proud he’d be of me and how hard I’ve worked in the last 10 years to get here.” 

Even 15 years after his passing, her father Andrew remains her greatest inspiration. 

“This week I’ve just been thinking of little things from my past and one of the earliest memories I had was saying ‘hey dad, do you reckon if I get as big and strong as the boys I could be the first woman to play for the Dragons?’ 

“He just looked at me and said ‘no darling I don’t think that can happen’. Now it’s happened, we’ve got a league of our own, the game’s just grown so much and to be a part of it is something truly special.”

Andrew was right to be skeptical of his daughter’s NRL dream back then, the thought of women’s competition was still two decades away, but he decided he was going to give her every chance to realise it.

“One night dad and I were sitting on the lounge watching the Dragons play and I said ‘dad I want to play, I want to play,” she recalls.

“A couple of weeks later I went to a church camp and when he picked me up he said ‘I’ve got surprise for you, I’ve registered you for rugby league’. From there he was just my biggest inspiration, he taught me everything I know about football.” 

Georgie, sister Sally and brother Derek became a weekend fixture at Hollymount Oval, cutting their teeth with Woonona Bulls. Andrew filled just about every role there was at the club, secretary, coach and dad to more than just his own kids.

It’s something that rubbed off on his daughter, a Country representative and seven-time Illawarra premiership-winner. 

“The way I’ve grown up, I’m a team player, I never miss a training session, I’ll always help out the club any way I can, I’m always pushing the other girls to succeed,” she said.

“That’s what he’s built in me, that love of the game.” 

Even with the premiership success, a decade in the relative anonymity of even the best women’s leagues tested that love, which is why the lure of an NRL debut was enough to fully flick the switch on her dream this year. 

“This contact hasn’t been just handed to me. I left my job at Steelers in March because I was exhausted and I knew that, if I wanted this, I needed to be training my arse off to earn it,” she said.

“I found myself a full-time job in Taren Point knowing if I could train at Live Athletic under Justin Lang that was going to benefit me in more ways then one. The 4:30-5am alarms have become my best friend.

“My drives home are when I catch up with my mates over the phone and walking in the door at 9pm passing my mum to say goodnight is all I really see of my family. 

“It hasn’t been the easiest five months, but I knew my life needed to change to earn the reward, and that is living out my childhood dream and becoming a part of history in a game I hold so close to my heart.” 

If only Andrew could see his little girl now, although Georgie’s entirely convinced that he is. 

“He’s never seen me score a try or win a premiership but, every time I go out on the field, he's always with me,” she said.