For Simon, she's had niggling injuries throughout her career but at the start of 2018, she made the decision to have surgery on her left knee to be pain-free. 

However, it was a hard 12 months to come back to playing and the 28-year-old briefly entertained the idea of giving away the game for good.

“I was like ‘I'm happy with what I've done with my career', considering what I've had to go through to get to where I got to,” Simon told The Women's Game in November 2018.

"I still have pain every single day, some days it flares up and it’s pretty sore. Before I signed with Newcastle I considered not playing at all, I considered potentially retiring, but I was like well, let's just get through this and see how it is."

Simon's efforts paid off and while her Newcastle Jets finished outside the finals, she impressed the Matildas coaching staff to earn a spot in her maiden World Cup squad.

Getting the news Ante Milicic had included her in the team headed to France was massive.

"I've had some bad luck with injuries over the last couple of years so it was a bit of a surprise, to be honest," she said.

"I think if I went back a year ago, I didn't think I would be playing again, I suppose the hard work I've put in has paid off.

"I think I've started to appreciate football more and just enjoy it for what it is."

The Matildas are currently in Turkey for a 10-day training camp