As his team-mates get their shoulders and knees strapped, Lewis Brown attaches black tape to his left arm. He's not injured, certainly not physically. His pain is of a different kind.
Since the Christchurch earthquakes of February, when 181 people lost their lives, Brown has been playing for the people he grew up with. He has pledged to dedicate the season to them and Sunday represents the last journey of a remarkable year.
"I'm still a Christchurch boy and I will definitely be doing it for Christchurch this weekend,'' he says. "There's not a day that goes past that I don't think of what happened down there and the devastation people are still going through. My heart still goes out to those people. I am playing every inch for them this weekend.
"You hear stories and you know people affected. I know people who lost loved ones but just to see somewhere where you grew up is pretty upsetting. It still plays on my mind. nothing will change that. It still shows the heart of the people down there, how strong they are. they are fighting through it and hopefully by us playing the grand final, and winning, it will put an extra smile on their faces.''
It's never been particularly easy for Brown, who turns 25 on Monday. His mother contemplated taking him to a doctor when in his early teens to see if there was a reason he wasn't growing as quickly as his friends and he tried to make up for his physical limitations with hard work. He also worked in factories to earn a crust because his rugby league career wasn't paying the bills.
