It's the Canberra Raiders prop pact that's driving Dunamis Lui to return to the State of Origin stage.
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Lui said he wasn't disappointed to miss out on the Origin decider at Lang Park last week - he was just happy to make his Queensland debut and be part of the Maroons squad.
But that doesn't mean he's not hungry to get back there.
As he and best mate Josh Papalii walked on the sacred Lang Park turf the pair vowed to get back to the Origin stage next year.
While it's been a long and taxing year, Lui felt reinvigorated from his part in the Origin campaign and thought he could play for another five years.
The 30-year-old said the Queenslanders used reports in the Sydney media labelling them the worst Maroons side in 40 years as motivation to knock off the highly fancied NSW Blues.
Lui's off-contract at the end of the 2021 NRL season, but wants to remain in lime green - where he's found a home.
He started Origin II in the front row alongside Papalii, but was left out of the decider following the return of Christian Welch (concussion).
But he still experienced the 50,000 crowd at Lang Park for the game.
Not to mention the aftermath - where the Thursday celebrations were even tougher than the post-match ones.
"After I played [game two] I felt like I had five more good years in me," Lui said.
"I'm 30 now and I didn't know how long I could play for. It motivated me to get back there.
"I was speaking to 'Paps', we were walking around the field and he was, 'Man is this us next year or what?' and I was, 'Yeah f---ing oath bro'."
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He wasn't down about missing out on that decider, where the Maroons were too good for the Blues in the 20-14 victory.
Instead, he was just stoked that after 158 NRL games for four different clubs - including a year on the sidelines following a knee reconstruction - he'd made it to the Origin stage.
"It's one of those moments that you'll never forget, even though I didn't play," Lui said.
"Just being there and experiencing all that, it was exciting.
"I wasn't disappointed. I went in there just happy I was part of the 27-man squad.
"At first I didn't think I was even going to be a part of that and then when I got named to play that was one of those emotional feelings.
"I didn't think I'd ever play Origin to be honest. I was just proud to be there."
One of the key ingredients to the Maroons' upset victory was the Sydney media.
There was a raft of social media posts from the Queenslanders celebrating the fact the so-called "worst ever Maroons team" had claimed the series.
Lui said it had been a massive motivating factor for the unheralded team that blooded a remarkable 14 debutants across the three games.
"Of course it did. We never thought that we would ever be labelled that going into camp," he said.
"It's one of those things where we thought NSW were trying to get together and try and pick their team up, but in a way it sort of backfired.
"All the boys went out there with one thing to prove and that was to prove everyone wrong."
Lui's manager has reached out to the Raiders to let them know he wants to stay beyond the 2021 season when his contract expires.
He's spent the past four years with the Green Machine and wants that to be longer.
Lui's one of a handful of Raiders off contract, although Canberra were close to finalising a two-year extension for Emre Guler.
"Hopefully I can extend there. I'd love to extend there. Hopefully that all goes to plan," he said.
"I don't think they've started talking contract-wise. I think [my manager] has mentioned to them that I want to stay."
Because the Maroons played in Sydney for game two, Lui still has to self-isolate until Wednesday due to the Queensland Health regulations.
Then he'll finally be out of the NRL bubble that has stretched back to May.
"For me it wasn't too bad because I've got my family, so I was coming home to my wife and kids every day," Lui said.
"I know a lot of the single boys would struggle with it - they're going home to pretty much sit on their PlayStations."