It took just one tearful phone call with her nan and Tamika Upton knew she had made the right call to return to Brisbane.
Widely regarded as the finest player in NRLW history, the local game was turned on its head when Newcastle released Upton on compassionate grounds last month.
The five-time premiership winner inked a three-year deal with Brisbane earlier this week, returning to the club where she won her maiden three titles.
The fullback explained her move which will see her just one short flight away from her home in Rockhampton, where her nan Helen and the majority of her family live.
"When I told my Nan I was coming back she got off the phone and she was crying. She was just so happy," Upton told AAP.
"If I wasn't already validated myself, that was it.
"I take a long time when I make a decision like this, and I've obviously made the right one. But it was so validating."
Upton was close to returning to Brisbane as recently as two years ago before inking a five-year deal to stay at the Knights.
She won a Dally M Medal shortly after, while helping take the Knights to back-to-back premierships.
But off the field she was battling personal pain with her grandfather losing a battle with cancer earlier this year and her nan also experiencing health issues.
"Everyone knows how much she means to me," Upton said.
"I loved Newcastle and that was it for me. I was quite happy. Then my personal and family circumstances changed, which changed the ballpark.
"Football was no longer the priority of mine. Getting back home was. And it was too hard to be able to do my football with everything going on at home.
"When things happen within your family, it is hard being so far away and not being able to do anything and not being able to be around anyone.
"My family never put pressure on me, they always want me to chase my dreams ... But you don't get a second chance to spend time with your family."
Upton has a sister and cousins living in Brisbane, while the move means she will be able to fly home during gaps in the Broncos schedule.
She will be reunited with several Queensland State of Origin teammates at the Broncos, and has the chance to work under coach Scott Prince and development manager Paul Dyer.
There is also the challenge of helping take the Broncos back to another premiership, with the club having not won one since her exit for Newcastle in 2022.
"I don't think about it that way, but I am a footy head and I loved the way the Broncos played this year," Upton said.
"They are minor premiers for a reason. I was supporting from afar, they are my best mates.
"My focus will just be where can I fit into this and how can I help the team."
