On Sunday, the Chelsea striker marked her return from a 634-day injury lay-off by scoring her 100th goal for the Blues.

It took Kerr just 18 minutes after being reintroduced to find the back of the net; her penalty-box instincts remained as sharp as ever. Yet rather than those being the result of countless hours of lonely practice on training pitches, they are the byproduct of Kerr's unconventional start to her career.

‘I didn’t start playing until I was 12 years old,’ she tells us. ‘I didn't really love football back then, to be honest. I just thought it was another sport.

'So I didn't really take it seriously at first, but I've always been quite naturally gifted in whatever I do sport-wise, so I picked it up quite quickly. My mum said I was good from the start, but I don't remember feeling that I was good at it compared to Aussie rules.

‘It's why I didn't work on stuff. When I first started playing football, I played Aussie Rules at home. I wasn't really practicing football because I didn't think it would be something that I would do seriously.'

However, Kerr's focus on Australian Rules football – a sport similar to rugby in that the ball can be picked up – was to prove to her benefit. While many believe young athletes need to specialise early to become a star, Kerr believes early experiences in multiple disciplines helped shape her success in football.

And while Kerr may be an anomaly, she is certainly proof that there is more than one path to excellence, as, even when she began to play football at a high level, a role as a striker didn’t follow until later.

‘I was decent at Aussie rules,’ Kerr continues. ‘I played with the boys. I played netball too, and I think the two sports put together really helped me when I started playing football, because I was able to read the game. My athleticism was key, and playing multiple sports helps anyone. I learned a lot about myself and being an athlete during that time.

‘I played as a winger at first – and went to my first World Cup as a winger. I was never really known as a goalscorer. I was more athletic, fast, fit, all the attributes of a winger.

‘It wasn't until I was about 19 or 20 that my coach moved me into the middle, and I honestly feel he shifted me there to fit players into the team. We had many good forwards at the time, so he moved me in there to make everyone fit in. From then on, I just kind of stuck with it.

‘I always got myself in good positions, but I wasn't a deadly striker straightaway, no. That probably came when I won the Golden Ball in America, or when I played in the W League (in Australia) with another striker at the time, Katie Gill. She was an ex-Matilda player, and I learned a lot from her. As I got older, I started playing the position more.’

Kerr’s best advice for strikers is simple: the only thing that truly matters is the final touch. It’s a window into the mindset of an elite finisher.

Of course, there is a lot more to being a striker who has scored 100 goals in 120 games for one single club, but according to Kerr, focus is key.

‘I heard a quote that I loved on a podcast the other day,’ she said. ‘It was a striker, and he spoke about the thing that made him the best footballer. He said everyone is always practising their first touch and worrying about it, but all he focused on was his last touch.

'That really resonated with me because I'm not someone who is the most technical or the most tactical player, but I'm always there when the ball needs to be touched into the back of the net.

‘You have to be really consistent. It’s easy to say, just get out there and score, but I'm consistent in my training, I'm consistent in my mindset. I've had games where I've played terribly, but I've still scored two goals, and I think that separates the good from the great.

'I've always tried to stay level-headed – it hasn't always worked, of course! – but I try to focus and stay ready for that one moment.

‘It’s a unique position because, as a centre back or a midfielder, you have to be ready all the time. As a striker, you might not touch the ball for 90 minutes, but you have to be ready for that one moment.

'I think over the years playing for Chelsea, that's something that the fans have grown to rely on me for – to get us over the line or score that winning goal in the last minute. That's because I have been able to focus and stay in the game even when I'm not really in it.’

When asked for the one piece of advice she’d pass along to young players who dream of being a top-class striker like her, her answer is typically relaxed.

‘Just give it a crack,’ she grins. ‘Best position in the world. It's one of the toughest positions, and everyone has an opinion on strikers, but I think it has the most pressure.

'You have to thrive on that pressure and enjoy it because it also has the most rewards out of any position in the game, and that's why I love it.’