Emma Stanbury makes two phone calls every day. The first is to her dad Michael to find out if her family home is safe from the bushfires burning in the surrounding areas.
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The second is to the Coopernook fire station for another update to make sure her dad isn't hiding any details from her.
"My dad likes to downplay it," Stanbury said.
"It's hard. He doesn't want me to stress, he just wants me to focus on football and so do I. They'll do anything to make sure they're safe and he keeps reassuring me.
"That's all I care about. At the end of the day, it's our home. It's our house but what matters is their lives and as long as they're OK then the rest we can rebuild and move forward."
Stanbury's worlds will collide when Canberra United partners with the Salvation Army to raise money for the bushfire disaster appeal at their second-round clash with Melbourne City at McKellar Park on Sunday.
Stanbury can only watch from afar as fires threaten to close in on her hometown in northern NSW.
One friend fought a fire while their house burned down a couple of kilometres away. Another came home from the hospital only to pack her belongings and evacuate the area, not knowing if she would have a home to return to.
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Her neighbour's son lost his house, possessions and wedding photos. He has a seven-month-old baby.
That's what Stanbury left behind when she arrived in the capital to pursue her football dream with Canberra United.
"I'm just focusing on what I can do down here because that will make my family happy up there," Stanbury said.
"There's not much I can do around here. I've had to send a list of valuables I don't want to lose to my step-mum. They've packed boxes and taken them to my brother's house in Taree because it's a central location.
"I know families who have lost absolutely everything. They didn't have time to get anything out, so that's where these donations will help.
"It means everything to me. I get choked up even thinking about it because it's somewhere 700 kilometres away, most people [in Canberra] wouldn't even know the town of Coopernook or Taree.
"To know the nation's capital is supporting those small rural towns and trying to help them out means a lot to me."
The club also raised funds during their season-opener last week but decided to continue the initiative due to the overwhelming response.
Stanbury made her club debut off the bench after co-captain Karly Roestbakken suffered a broken nose in the second-half of their 2-0 win over Perth Glory.
Roestbakken, who is the club's only Matildas representative, returned to training and has been cleared to play against City and former W-League teammate Ellie Carpenter this weekend.
Carpenter is one of several Matildas players in the Melbourne outfit, joining goalkeeper Lydia Williams, Emily van Egmond, Kyah Simon, Steph Katley and Aivi Luik.
"[Melbourne City] were heavyweight last year but didn't make the finals," Canberra coach Heather Garriock said.
"I think the key to any successful team is about how they play and progress together throughout the competition, winning moments and really taking advantage of those moments during the game.
"The most important thing for us this season is to work as a team collectively. The foundation is our character and culture, I think we've built from that last week."
W-LEAGUE
Round 2: Canberra United v Melbourne City at McKellar Park, Sunday 4pm
