Michelle Heyman says she realised a long time ago she couldn't define her career by numbers.
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That's why the looming 100-goal milestone she's likely to reach this weekend is buried deep in the back of her mind, despite being on the verge of becoming the first female - and just the fourth player overall - to reach the A-Leagues feat.
It's also why at 35 she is hungry for more, declaring her desire to play beyond this season more than 16 years after she started.
"I'll keep going until someone doesn't want me," Heyman laughs.
"I'll play for as long as my body lets me, or until I'm bored. But right now this is fun for me.
"I still feel like a kid. I've got really good friends who are all retired now and they always say to me: 'go as long as you can'. It's a different lifestyle.
"I'm probably not setting myself up financially. But not a lot of people get to run around kicking a ball for a job, so I'll do it until I can't. And what's the point of living if you're not doing what you love?"
The Canberra United skipper is on the cusp of a remarkable slice of history. She has scored 99 goals in her A-League Women's career and needs one more to notch her century after scoring goals in the past two games.
It is hoped she will reach 100 in the clash against Newcastle on Saturday, and the fact she has scored six goals in the past four matches against the Jets is a good omen for a celebration this weekend.
But Heyman is unfazed by the hype and anticipation. As a leader of a team boasting young players - some almost 20 years Heyman's junior - she just wants to help them win.
"I reckon the talk [of getting 100 goals] started last season when we started playing more games," Heyman said.
"But I don't even really care. Of course it's cool and something that's really nice, but I just want to win.
"I don't care who scores the goals. I hope we score plenty of them and I don't have to be the one scoring them, we just need to build confidence and become united because we've been a bit of an inconsistent shitshow at times this year."
That attitude and leadership is the reason coach Njegosh Popovich is convinced the Matildas pulled the wrong rope when they left Heyman out of their World Cup squad.
Heyman has developed from a raw goal-scoring freak into a respected leader - who can still score goals.
"Even if she came off the bench for the Matildas ... with the injury to Sam Kerr we didn't have a second option," Popovich said.
"She has experience and that capability. She's grown up as a person ... Michelle is a perfect example of that. She has the maturity of a professional. When you consider the W-League started with eight games, it's pretty impressive she's here and close to 100."
The road to 100 has been slow, and at times frustrating. The target has been on the radar for the past two or three years, but it wasn't always attainable.
Heyman started her career at Sydney FC, but left the club before she had scored a goal.
"Getting up at 4am to drive from Shellharbour to Sydney for 6am just wasn't feasible. Especially for no money, it wasn't a great start and I didn't enjoy it," she said.
Not long after she signed for the Central Coast Mariners, scoring 11 goals in 11 games that season.
"It was a team of my best friends. It was just fun," Heyman said.
"My first goals were against Sydney and mum and dad were in the crowd. It made me realise what the W-League was supposed to feel like, I'll never forget those days."
She moved to Canberra when the Mariners folded and won championships as a star striker, dominating in the domestic competition and playing more than 60 times for Australia.
But she retired at the end of the 2017-18 season after injuries took their toll on her body and her mind. She made a brief comeback for Adelaide and then returned to Canberra in 2020.
It's where she hopes to stay to end her career, but the uncertainty around the team's ownership future has clouded her immediate playing decisions.
Heyman is off contract at the end of the season and with the A-Leagues searching for an investor to back a men's team in the capital, it has placed women's negotiations on hold.
"It's a bit daunting and we haven't heard anything, but I'm keen to keep going," Heyman said.
And how does she feel about the 100-goal milestone?
"It's just another day at the office, I don't see it as anything different to that," she said.
"It's pointless to build it up. It would just bring pressure and stress. My goal is to be undefeated this year, win this game and then get back home to Canberra. Simple."