Back from the brink: Heyman's wild ride began at the Illawarra Stingrays

The Illawarra Stingrays product from Barrack Heights retired from international football due to a multitude of reasons, mainly missing out on World Cup selection in 2019.

Fast-forward five years and so much has changed.

The 35-year-old was confirmed in Tony Gustavsson's Matildas squad for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan. And what a journey it has been.

"The year that I retired I really needed a break," Heyman said following the squad announcement.

"Back then in 2019, you couldn't really use the word 'mental health'. You just had to retire and just step away. I would have loved to be like 'I just need a year off just to reboot and look after myself'.

"But since 2020 I came back to the A-League and played an incredible season. I won the Julie Dolan Award, scored multiple goals, loved every minute of it.

"I just loved football so much that it sparked that fire in my belly. And since 2020 I've been fighting to get back in this squad. To get given the opportunity, it means the world to me.

"I needed that break [in 2019]. I needed time to be a human, not be a robot. Being in the national team was a lot and it was a lot for your body doing that 10 years straight. I definitely needed a rest. I feel fitter, I feel stronger, I'm happier and I'm healthier than I was back then."

An ACL injury to captain Sam Kerr opened the door for selection for Heyman, who is currently the leading goalscorer in the domestic A-League Women's competition.

It was a selection that was not without criticism from some. At 35, it probably highlights the fundamental problem in Australian football (in both the female and male game) that there are little options when it comes to clinical strikers.

But this takes nothing away from Heyman, who recently became the first female and fourth player overall to surpass the 100 A-Leagues goals mark. In truth, she has been calling out for selection for years now.

Unfortunately for her, she plays the same position as one of Australian sport's greatest ever footballers - Kerr. But now she has her chance.

The Canberra United forward was selected in Gustavsson's squad alongside fellow Stingrays products Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler, who both excelled in the recent FIFA Women's World Cup.

There is a real potential that three Stingrays girls could line-up together at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Let's go back to where it all began for Heyman ...

It is said a lot that the Stingrays is a breeding ground for future Matildas. But it's the truth.

Many of Australia's past and present greats have proudly worn the Illawarra pink.

Heyman learnt her trade at the Stingrays before moving on to Sydney FC in the old W-League (now A-League Women) in 2008. She then made her return to the Illawarra club in 2016 before securing a move to Adelaide United in 2018.

She is very much a legend amongst the current crop of Stingrays players. Every year, current coach Steve Gordon and his squad make the annual trip to go and watch Heyman for Canberra United, showing just how much of an impact she has had at the club.

The club also helped produce two of Australian football's biggest names in Foord and Fowler, who now play for Arsenal and Manchester City respectively.

Heyman's form for Canberra in the ALW has been immense.

She currently leads the golden boot standings for this campaign and looks to be playing with swagger and confidence.

The real question is can she emulate that form in clubland for the Matildas? It is not as easy as it seems.

But with 61 caps and 20 goals to her name in the green and gold, it's not as though she doesn't know her way around an international football field.

There's no reason why not.

With plenty of experience on her side, as well as Kerr all but ruled out, if Heyman can perform across the two legs against Uzbekistan and help the Matildas punch their ticket to Paris, she is in line to be a starter.

It would be poetic to see her back on one of the biggest stages after it for all money that her Matildas days were over.

It just shows the character of Heyman, born and bred in the Illawarra.