Dragons star Jessica Sergis has completed the first leg of what could be a career-defining double by winning the female Dally M Medal in Sydney on Wednesday night.
Sergis became the second NRLW player to take out the game's highest individual honour after Brittany Breayley won the inaugural women's Dally M in 2018.
With three tries, a try assist, 21 tackle breaks and an average of 153 metres per match in three appearances this season, Sergis showed her class in a star-studded Dragons backline.
The 22-year-old said it was the "pinnacle" of her career to date but there could be even bigger things to come on Sunday when the Dragons tackle Brisbane in the NRLW grand final at ANZ Stadium.
Check out all the Dally M Award winners
"I did not expect it at all. It's major," Sergis told NRL.com.
"Coming so close last year and now being here and winning it, it's the pinnacle for me at the moment. I'm absolutely over the moon.
"It's been such a big year for women's rugby league, it's growing tremendously and getting better and better. This is definitely just the icing – it's amazing.
"If we win the premiership on Sunday, I won't be able to beat 2019. I'm lost for words."
While acknowledging the enormity of the award, the team-first Sergis was already thinking about how her Dragons colleagues would react at training on Thursday morning.
"The girls are going to be so pumped. We're going to have a good week to get ready for that premiership. I think it's definitely boosted all our confidence," Sergis said.
"I'll enjoy tonight and then we'll knuckle down back into training tomorrow. We've got to take it pretty seriously to beat those Broncos."
Sergis reveals how the Red V turned their season around
St George Illawarra lost 14-4 to reigning premiers Brisbane in round one but after recovering with consecutive victories to make the decider, Sergis has faith the Red V can reverse the result when it counts.
"We knew round one, it was our first game together to gel as a team. We didn’t play our best footy; there were a lot of silly mistakes," Sergis said.
"I know that we've worked on that and we know how to fix that. Having two back-to-back do-or-die wins is making us even hungrier.
"I know the Broncos will want that back-to-back but we're even hungrier."
