Canberra Raiders front-rower Shannon Boyd admits he wasn't far off leaving behind his NRL dream to go back to Cowra and live on the family farm.
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Now Canberra's big country kid is one win away from an NRL grand final appearance with a sudden-death Melbourne Storm showdown looming on Saturday night.
It was Raiders coach Ricky Stuart that told the hulking forward he had "one more chance" ahead of the 2014 season. That was just the ultimatum Boyd needed to kick into gear.
Boyd decided he "might as well rip in" and it paid off as he was awarded his first Raiders jersey in round one of that season.
The 122-kilogram Boyd has since been touted by Australian coach Mal Meninga as a potential Kangaroos bolter.
While he misses going hunting on the farm, Boyd says playing professional football isn't a bad alternative – now he goes hunting for opposition ball carriers.
"They're both good," Boyd laughed.
"Pig hunting is a hobby and footy, it's pretty much a hobby anyway footy. It's something that we love to do and to get to do it professionally is really good.
"It's always rewarding when you put a big hit on or score a try or do something good."
Big hits have become the norm for Boyd. One needn't look any further than his shot on Cronulla hooker Michael Ennis in week one of the finals for proof.
The power comes natural to the Raiders enforcer who says he has "always been pretty big".
"When I was younger I wasn't as big, but when I found out I liked food a bit I started growing a bit," Boyd said.
"Poor old Woody [Raiders rehabilitation & nutrition coach Leigh Woodbridge] has had me for the last four or five years trying to get me nice and lean.
"Still got a long way to go but getting there slowly."
It wasn't too long ago Boyd was so determined to whip himself into shape he would send photos of his meals to a dietitian to ensure he was on the right track.
"I think he was just trying to get my body weight to the right place," Boyd said.
"I [did] that for probably five or six months and it helped me get my body weight down and my skin folds down so it really did benefit me."
Boyd says making the move to the capital was a "pretty big" decision, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
Driving his ute around what is regarded as a big country town in Canberra has been a lot easier on Boyd than if he had headed to the big smoke.
"Canberra's not too bad compared to Sydney, I wouldn't have been able to do that when I was a young fella," Boyd said.
"The club's been good to me the whole way through it and that made it a lot easier for me."
Now life on the farm can wait. The big country kid Boyd has a premiership ring on his mind.
NRL PRELIMINARY FINAL
Raiders team: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Sia Soliola. Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Paul Vaughan, 17. Joe Tapine.
Storm team: 1. Cameron Munster, 2. Suliasi Vunivalu, 3. William Chambers, 4. Cheyse Blair, 5. Marika Koroibete, 6. Blake Green, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Cameron Smith (c), 10. Jordan McLean, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. Tohu Harris, 13. Dale Finucane. Interchange: 14. Kenny Bromwich, 15. Tim Glasby, 16. Christian Welch, 17. Ben Hampton, 20. Matt White, 21. Felise Kaufusi.
