When rookie Tyler Cornish scored a try under the bright lights of the NRL for the Gold Coast Titans earlier this year, he had made "a dream come true".
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But little over seven weeks later, he was back in Goulburn playing for his hometown team in the Canberra Raiders Cup.
Cornish left the Titans after missing out on a second-tier contract and thought if he was going to go and find a job to support his NRL dream, he may as well come home.
He tossed and turned trying to decide whether he would stick it out on the glitter strip, but once he made the call to Titans coach Neil Henry, he "didn't regret it for a second".
The 22-year-old spent four years in the Sydney Roosters' system before moving to the Gold Coast to take up a deal with the Queensland Cup's Burleigh Bears.
Worked into the contract was a train-and-trial deal with the Titans that Cornish believed could kickstart his NRL dream - a deal that saw him feature in NRL trial matches and the Auckland Nines.
Then when Gold Coast mentor Henry needed a replacement for the injured Jarryd Hayne, Cornish answered the call.
But despite scoring a try on debut, Cornish's phone soon stopped ringing.
Unwanted by the Titans, Cornish fielded interest from the Canberra Raiders' feeder club Mounties before opting to return home.
"If I did get a full-time training spot with the Titans then I wouldn't have left," Cornish said.
"It was just more the fact that I was going to have to go back to Burleigh and find a job and do it that way. I just thought I was better off to come back home and find a job and still play footy.
"I didn't make my mind up straight away. I sat on it for a week or two and kept changing my mind. When I finally made the decision and rang the coach I didn't regret it for a second.
"I haven't really given up the dream of going back to the NRL because I'd like to go back and have a crack at it. Just for the rest of this year at least, I'd just like to be back at home."
Cornish played the second half of Goulburn's big loss to the Queanbeyan Kangaroos in round five of the Canberra Raiders Cup that left the Bulldogs in eighth on the ladder.
It was his first taste of the local league's top grade since under 18s, where he once came off the bench for a 20-minute stint.
This weekend he will partner his younger brother Nick in the halves for the first time against the Gungahlin Bulls at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Saturday.
Twenty-year-old Nick Cornish returned home from Sydney earlier this year having played under 20's for the Roosters.
Their eldest brother is former Canberra Raiders and current Wyong Roos NSW Cup halfback Mitch, trying to crack the NRL on a one-year deal at the Roosters.
If his older brother doesn't get a gig anywhere next season, Tyler Cornish is salivating at the prospect of having the trio all together in Goulburn.
WOMEN'S CITY-COUNTRY ORIGIN
Just as the City-Country Origin fixture finished it's one stop farewell tour in men's rugby league, the concept has gained a new lease on life.
Two products from the Canberra region will lace up the boots for Country in the first-ever women's rugby league City-Country Shield at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.
Goulburn Workers Bulldogs front-rower Jennaya Ottaway joins Queanbeyan Blues star Samantha Wood in the Country squad for the historic clash.
Unlike the men's contest in recent years, the clash shapes up as a genuine trial for the New South Wales squad that will tackle Queensland later this year.
CANBERRA RAIDERS CUP ROUND SIX
Saturday: Tuggeranong Bushrangers v Woden Valley Rams at Greenway Oval, Gungahlin Bulls v Goulburn Workers Bulldogs at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, West Belconnen Warriors v Belconnen United Sharks at Raiders Belconnen, Queanbeyan Blues v Yass Magpies at Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan Kangaroos have the bye. All games at 3pm.
