There were no expectations on Ellia Green in her return from a knee reconstruction but that didn't stop the Australian sevens star from running in five tries in a near-perfect day one of the Sydney 7s.
Australia beat Spain 29-0, Papua New Guinea 50-0 and France 43-0 at Allianz Stadium.
Green scored a try in each of the first two games before a hat-trick against France helped Australia top their pool and set up a quarter-final rematch with Spain in the second leg of the series.
Spain were the second-highest ranked of the sides that didn't qualify automatically, meaning they go through as a "lucky loser" and will meet Australia on Saturday for the second time in two days.
USA will play Russia, New Zealand meet Ireland and Canada play France in the other quarters, with semi-finals later on Saturday and the final to be played on Sunday.
Australian coach Tim Walsh said it was good to have the speedster back on the flank and that he was foolish to think a nine month lay-off would slow Green down.
"I thought she was fantastic; it's going to be tough to come back and we've got to look after her so, there was no expectations on Ellia for this tournament ... but she usually performs above expectation," he said.
Green said she endured a nervous night's sleep but would enter Saturday fully confident in her rebuilt knee.
"It's been an incredible day; the welcoming I got when I first ran onto the field gave me goosebumps," she said.
"It's been a really long road, nine months and I could not wait to get back on the pitch today.
"I was pretty nervous, not going to lie, but just to be back on board reminds me why I love this game so much."
Walsh was thrilled to keep a clean sheet across three games, something the Olympic champions weren't able to do during their relatively disappointing 2017 World Series campaign.
"It shows your desire and that last 30 seconds against the French on the line there they still didn't want to let them in," he said.
New Zealand looked to have recaptured their best form in an undefeated day one, while Japan provided the upset of the day in beating England 17-10.
It will be the last time Walsh leads the women at the Sydney tournament, with the coach to step down from the role following April's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
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