The Sydney Roosters gave Mitch Cornish a rugby league "lifeline", but the Goulburn Bulldogs gave him a chance to fall in love again.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's why the Les McIntyre Medal winner will be smiling regardless of the result in the Canberra Raiders Cup preliminary final on Sunday.
Cornish has rediscovered his passion since leaving the NRL world to link with his junior club, which is chasing its first premiership in a decade.
"I was a young kid when I first started in the NRL, I didn't understand what it took. That's on me," Cornish said.
"It's a tough road and it took a wake-up call and lifeline from [Roosters coach] Trent Robinson for me to realise that.
"I [started to hate] the fact rugby league became a job. I wasn't enjoying it ... I got to the point where I was happy to come home.
"To play with my brothers was the ultimate goal and I'm absolutely loving it. Secondly, I wanted Goulburn to have success through every grade."
Cornish and brothers Tyler and Nick will lead Goulburn's finals campaign, which faces its next challenge against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
The Bulldogs will be favourites after mounting a late-season charge, which included an 80-0 rout against Gungahlin in the last round of the season.
MORE CANBERRA SPORT
The performance sealed Cornish's win in the competition's best and fairest award and announced the Bulldogs as a genuine title threat.
The Cornish brothers have been the central figures in the resurgence, but veterans Michael Dodson and Shane McCallum - both in their 40s - have been the glue.
Dodson, 44, has told teammates he is retiring at the end of the season, adding extra motivation to a mission to toppled the Bushrangers.
"Mick [Dodson] is the first player I knew about in terms of rugby league," Cornish said.
"He's the best player I've seen to never play in the NRL, hands down.
"He's declared this is his last year. He's been playing since before they started keeping records about how many games blokes had played. His given more to this club than anyone, he deserves [a send off]."
The Bushrangers have limped through the finals series, hit by a series of injuries which have put their title hopes on life support.
The Bushrangers bounced back from a grand final loss last season to be within touching distance of the minor premiership, but they lost back to back games against the Queanbeyan Blues and are now fighting to book a ticket to the decider.
"There's a lot of quality players in this competition ... we've got a lot of young guys and when you stack them up you wouldn't expect them to be [doing so well]," said Tuggeranong coach Jarrad Teka. "But they've got the goods ... we're going to be up for it."
CANBERRA RAIDERS CUP PRELIMINARY FINAL
Sunday: Tuggeranong Bushrangers v Goulburn Bulldogs at Gungahlin Enclosed, 3pm.