Craig McMahon was happy in retirement when Royals coach Wayne Southwell knocked on his door and asked the 38-year-old to put his boots back on.
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Luckily for Royals the premiership-winning playmaker answered the SOS after three years of turning sausages, setting up fields on game day and doing every other job at the rugby club.
So when he walked off with blood around his eye and strapping tape on his head, the veteran couldn't help but smile after helping guide Royals to a massive win against Queanbeyan.
"It's nice to be around some young blokes," McMahon grinned. "I'm having fun. I felt 38 up until about this week and I got over a few niggles ... but yeah, I probably still feel 38.
"We lost a pretty crucial player [in the off-season] and Southy asked me to come back. I was fit, so I said OK. I worked for the club for a little while and for me, it's just good to get back to being a player."
Royals continued their unbeaten start to the season when they beat a heavily undermanned Queanbeyan 56-24 at Phillip Oval on Saturday afternoon.
McMahon is the extra addition to the Royals side which lost the grand final last year. It's been almost four years since McMahon led Royals to a enthralling premiership in 2015 before deciding to retire.
He has dabbled in lower grades since and made a first-grade cameo in 2017, but he's strapped himself in for the full ride this season. McMahon used to be the Royals' general - doing everything from kicking goals to calling plays and taking the captaincy reins.
These days he's the new part in a well-oiled machine, giving maestro Pedro Rolando the freedom to pull the strings, captain Ben Johnston extra support and the experience of having done it all before.
Rolando finished with a 21-point haul against the Whites, Johnston scored a double and Royals charged to another convincing win. "Pedro is a class act. He's a step above and he's never lost at any level," Southwell said.
"BJ gets better each game he plays ... I'm really happy. We've looked pretty ugly at times, but today was pretty nice. Macca gives us experience. We've got players coming through ... he controls the ship really well for us."
Queanbeyan is at the other end of the spectrum. The Whites would love someone like McMahon to step in as a guiding voice for their young group, which was missing more than 10 regular first-graders.
But still the Whites were admirable in their effort against the Royals, throwing everything at one of the premiership favourites and controlling most of the second half.
Brendan Jimenez looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball and lock Zeph Tuinona was outstanding in the forward pack.
But in the end Royals' experience and class overshadowed youth and enthusiasm. To put the Whites' performance in context, they had their back-up hooker playing at No. 8 and another rake in the starting front-row.
Assistant coach Jerome Villegas said: "We've been playing in patches, we've got a young team and we're inconsistent.
"But I think when we play with consistency, we can do so much better. The score today was hard, I don't think it represents the team and how we played. We've got injured, players away with the under-20s. But we believe in everything we're doing together."
AT A GLANCE
John I Dent Cup: ROYALS 56 (Ben Johnston 2, Suita Tai 2, Seth Going, Pedro Rolando, Lincoln Smith, Nick Jervis-Hamilton tries; Pedro Rolando 8 conversions) bt QUEANYEAN WHITES 24 (Jake Gordon, Zeph Tuinona, Keith Morgan tries; Brendan Jimenez 3 conversions, penalty); GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 38 bt UNI-NORTHS OWLS 32; TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 80 bt EASTS 17.
Second grade: Gungahlin 33 bt Uni-Norths Owls 24, Royals 54 bt Queanbeyan 14, Tuggeranong 57 bt Easts 12.
Colts: Gungahlin 45 bt Uni-Norths Owls 3, Royals 29 bt Queanbeyan 26, Tuggeranong 47 bt Easts 24.