As some of her close friends and former teammates get ready to attend the Opening Ceremony at the Paris Olympics, Georgia Hannaway will be on the other side of the world in Australia, running out on the field to make her NRLW debut.

In less than 24 hours from now, Hannaway will compete in the NRLW competition for the first time with the Cronulla Sharks NRLW alongside former Rugby Sevens representatives Tiana Penitani and Emma Tonegato as she looks to make a name for herself in the rugby league arena.

An ex-Australian Rugby Sevens prodigy, the playmaker transitioned back to the sport of rugby league, earning a three-year contract with the Sharks following a terrific season in the BMD Premiership with the North Devils, in which she was one of the players of the competition.

As her parents and Grandma fly down from Brisbane for the monumental event, Zero Tackleย caught up with Hannaway before her maiden appearance in the NRLW.

In an exclusive interview with the publication, Hannaway spoke on her difficult journey to the present day after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction and being let go by Rugby Sevens during the time she was injured.

"It definitely put me in a dark place and really made me rethink what I wanted to do with my life," she toldย Zero Tackle.

"It was supposed to only be about a six-month rehab, which turned into 11 months, just with setbacks and everything but I had some really good people in my corner who helped me get through.

"My physio Lisa Cairns - she has been my physio since I've been about 14 years old - was really in my corner and did everything she could.

"I had Kelly Penfold, and she took all of my rehab, and she really looked after me, but one of the other girls at the time also had the same surgery I had, so we were kind of going through it together.

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"There was lots of time where I just kind of thought to myself, I really want to get back, and I really want to play, but then I was so tired from trying to get back for so hard I didn't really give myself the rest I needed, like the mental rest.

"After I had gotten cleared to play, I got through my surgery (and) found out that I had been let go from Sevens, and after that, I just took a mental health break.

"There was lots of thoughts (of not returning). After you have your shoulder done, you don't have much range and you kind of got to get all that back into your and get all your movements back.

"There was a few times where I was like oh my God, I'm never going move my arm again...but I really love my footy and I think that is what drove me so hard to want to get back."

Making her return to the field in a local Rugby Seven tournament in Byron Bay, it wasn't long before Hannaway received a call to play for the Norths Devils in the recent BMD Premiership competition.

Originally set to play for the Souths Logan Magpies, she would go on to play at the Devils alongside fellow NRLW superstars Jada Ferguson and Jocelyn Kelleher.

Joining Kelleher in the halves, the duo created a lethal combination that saw them make the Grand Final before falling to the Mackay Cutters 16-6 in the final match.

In 11 appearances, Hannaway scored nine tries, provided five try assists and eight line-break assists and ran 761 total running metres, impressing recruiters at the Cronulla Sharks.

"(The vibe) is pretty good. Everyone's getting around each other. I learned a lot off Emma Tonegato and Taylor Preston," she added.

"They're just willing to teach me and they just give me so much time and patience to sit there and go through things with me. The girls just walk into training and everyon'e happy to see you. The vibe's just really good.

"If I have a question or anything, I just go straight to Emma, and she just gives me the time of day to sit there and go through things with me, which is awesome. It's good having someone like that, especially someone who's so experienced as her."

Starting from the interchange bench on Saturday, Hannaway is likely seen as the long-term replacement for Tayla Preston in the halves, with Preston departing the club at the end of the season to join the newly-former Canterbury Bulldogs in their inaugural NRLW season.

"I think it would be to make the team every round and really push for those starting spots but I always really want to enjoy my footy this year," Hannaway said on her personal goal for the 2024 NRLW season.

"I really want to learn as much as I can because I'm so lucky to have so many smart girls to learn off and I just want to take in as much as I can.

"I just want to have fun! I want to make my family proud. It means the world to me that I've gotten selected for Round 1, I really didn't expect it but I'm just really excited to get out there and make my mark on the scene and show everyone what I can do."

The Cronulla Sharks will take on the North Queensland Cowboys in their opening match of the 2024 NRLW campaign at PointsBet Stadium at 11:00am AEST on Saturday.