Dylan Napa can thank premiership teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for setting him on the path back to the Sydney Roosters, a path that culminated in a fairytale NRL return on Saturday night.
A popular member of the Roosters forward pack across six seasons, Napa left Bondi after the 2018 grand final victory for more opportunities with Canterbury.
But a decline in form meant the Bulldogs chose not to retain the prop beyond 2021.
A move to the Super League did not go to plan either, French side Catalans cutting him loose in 2022 with a year to run on his contract.
At a crossroads, 30-year-old Napa sought advice from Roosters prop Waerea-Hargreaves, who suggested making contact with his old coach Trent Robinson about a train-and-trial deal.
"Jared and I have been mates for a long time," Napa told AAP.
"Any time I can bounce knowledge off him, he's been around long enough, so he knows the right answers."
But Waerea-Hargreaves warned Napa that it would take commitment on and off the field to compete for spots in the NRL forward pack.
He might be a premiership winner and former Queensland State of Origin representative, but he wasn't a young man anymore.
"(Waerea-Hargreaves) pretty much said to make some sacrifices," Napa said.
"Make some decisions away from football as well as at football, to do the best thing for your body."
A heart-to-heart with Robinson followed.
The coach explained there would be no room for slacking off, nor brain-snaps like the kind that landed him a three-game suspension ahead of the 2018 finals series.
"We sat down and had some frank conversations about his life and where he was at and the opportunity that might be there and what I expected from him," Robinson said.
"To have that conversation and say, 'I want that type of Napa but I don't want that other type of Napa that can't be here', he looked at me and he said, 'Yep that's fine' and he's honoured that."
After losing Nathan Brown to suspension for the round-24 clash against the Dolphins, Robinson tapped Napa on the shoulder for his first Roosters appearance in 1778 days.
Late in the 30-14 win, Napa came on to a cheer from the home crowd that came to love him in his first stint with the club.
"There was a little bit of emotion," Napa said.
"(But) I was more nervous about letting my teammates down. I just didn't want to play badly."
Now that he's had the taste, off-contract Napa has doubled down on wanting to continue his career into 2024.
"I'll probably sit down and set some goals for the next 12 months and see what happens," he said.
It'd be bold to write him off - besides, Napa has already shown once what he can accomplish with a bit of hard work.
"You never know what can happen if you sacrifice," Napa said.
"That's what happened. I guess I set a goal and then I reached it."