If any one player were to epitomise the Bulldogs' rags to riches 2009 NRL season, unheralded prop Michael Hodgson would be that man.
Just like the wooden spoon-gathering Bulldogs of last season, the front rower was on the brink of the lowest of lows as he dealt with the prospect of being washed up at the ripe old age of 27.
As Gold Coast did not offer him a new deal and with no other prospects, retirement seemed probable.
"It was realistic because maybe there wasn't an opportunity for me to play," Hodgson said of retirement. "It was definitely on the table for me to retire, that's the way I was thinking halfway through last year."
But the Bulldogs, via captain Andrew Ryan who played with Hodgson at Parramatta in 2000, came calling as the club undertook one of its most significant roster overhauls in history.
Coming in alongside players the calibre of Ben Hannant, Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris and Michael Ennis, Hodgson was not seen as a key figure in the club's revitalisation.
But in unison with several other new faces, Hodgson has transformed the Bulldogs into a premiership force as they sit second on the ladder with just six games to play.
The stunning resurgence has helped propel the above-mentioned four into representative football, but Hodgson had no issue with his team-mates getting the accolades.
"That sort of stuff never bothered me and I think I got my fair share of praise - I'm not really after that sort of thing,' the former Titans, Canberra and Parramatta forward said.
"I'm just happy and proud to be playing in the NRL."
"I feel privileged that this is my 12th season playing professionally, so even though I've never reached any great heights, I've obviously done something right along the way to keep getting a run with a club."
The man he will go head to head with at ANZ Stadium today, South Sydney skipper Roy Asotasi, last week signed a new two-year deal which follows the massive three-year contract which initially lured him from the Dogs in 2007.
The Rabbitohs have won their last three matches to move to within one point of the top eight, but face a tough run home with their next five matches all against top eight sides. Both coaches were lining up the superlatives for North Queensland dynamo Matt Bowen after his brilliant display in the Cowboys' 34-18 upset NRL win over Gold Coast at Skilled Park on Friday night.
In normal circumstances, Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston would have walked in man-of-the-match honours but Bowen's sublime performance stole the show.
"Matty Bowen was on fire tonight, he was everywhere," Titans coach John Cartwright said after the Titans' nine-game winning streak at home was brought to an end.
Titans skipper Scott Prince concurred.
"Matt B had a field day," was Prince's assessment.
Bowen took his NRL career try tally to 101 but it was his courageous defence that impressed most.
"Everyone praises his attack but his two try saving tackles, that's what we value most," said Thurston, who was also at his dangerous best with the ball.
"He's only a little man but he put his body on the line, that's what we expect."
Cowboys coach Neil Henry rated Bowen's exhibition as his best game of the year and a return to his brilliant best following a serious knee injury that ruined his 2008 season.
"Matty was very involved, and defensively he came up with two try saving tackles," said Henry who rated the team's first half as close to their best.
The game was all but over when the Cowboys scored four tries for a 22-0 first-half lead.
NRL: Powerhouse forgets retirement
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.