As the whistle blew on the final game of her W-League career, Melbourne City footballer Rhali Dobson was already riding a wave of emotion, but the best was yet to come.
The 28-year-old had decided to hang up her boots to spend time with partner Matt Stonham during his fight with brain cancer, an announcement she made to her teammates only the previous evening.
As she left the pitch after scoring in a 2-1 win over Perth Glory, Dobson was met by Stonham, down on one knee with a ring and a marriage proposal.
She promptly broke down in tears, before the pair were swarmed by her teammates.
"This is bigger than the sport. He is my absolute world," said Dobson, after accepting the proposal.
Dobson had proposed twice in the past fortnight, only to be laughed off by her partner.
"I'd kept things pretty quiet [with the team], because I wanted them to stay focused on making sure we had a strong finish to the end of the season. As we know, it's been very up and down.
"They knew Matt had surgery and everything, so they've been amazing in terms of messaging us both and making sure that we knew that they are here for us. They've been perfect."
The footage has since gone viral around the world.
