A loophole in the WNBL rules had allowed the Adelaide Lightning forward to return to Launceston.

In a twist of irony, losing Mikaela Ruef to play in the American WNBA had proved to be Roberts’ – and Launceston’s – good fortune.

Roberts had been ruled ineligible for the SEABL over the number of minutes playing in the 2016/17 for Adelaide.

But the loss of Tornadoes teammate Ruef to LA Sparks released a “category” spot for a contracted WNBL player. 

Club officials had been frantically making calls all day Thursday to get the deal done over the line.

The Torns wanted to secure the Roberts prior to Friday night’s clash against Frankston.

“We’ve been going 24-7 overnight and today,” chair Janie Finlay said on Thursday night. “Phones have been going off, non-stop, all day and we just put pen to paper.” 

But attempts to have Roberts ready to play 24 hours later could be halted.

The Tornadoes will sweat on a clearance for Roberts from Melbourne Tigers.

“We have respectively requested they clear Tayla to play,” Finlay said. “So we’re working through the clearance process as we speak.”

The club since prior to the season tipoff have been desperate to replace Ruef under the boards.

Launceston had signed rookie small forward Lauren Nicholson from WNBL champions Sydney Uni Flames to cover for the 191cm pair.

Ruef’s unexpected departure set off negotiations with alike overseas players, the club further admitting it had been close to gaining a signature.

But Roberts’ move to approach her hometown team once a vacancy for restricted WNBL signings was first realised had ensured the Torns made the strong 24-year-old a high priority.

“As with all of these things, there is always a certain series of events that occur,” Finlay said, “and when it became apparent that the opportunity to speak to Tayla was open, we took that.”