David Shillington had two options - finish his Canberra Raiders career languishing in reserve grade or "fight like hell" for his NRL career.
The Gold Coast-bound prop chose the latter and through hard work, has earned the right to farewell the club on his terms in the final home game of the year against Penrith on Monday night.
Shillington was overlooked for selection in round one against Cronulla, a bitter pill to swallow for someone boasting eight Queensland and 14 Test caps.
After breaking his thumb in NSW Cup and spending several weeks on the sideline he admitted he came very close to moving to the English Super League mid-season, before Raiders coach Ricky Stuart assured him he'd be back playing first grade.
"I probably knew I was moving on then, whether it was mid-season or the end of the season," Shillington said.
"At the time I wasn't even considered in the top 19 extended squad for round one, that was tough to handle and get my head around. But I wasn't going to let it end my career by any means, or set me back any more than it had to."
A chat with ACT Brumbies forward David Pocock convinced Shillington to use the University of Canberra's altitude chamber to aid his hopes of a recall.
Often alone, Shillington would will himself through torturous cardio sessions in heat and humidity 3000 metres above sea level, determined to do everything he could to win back his spot.
"I was looking at my options, at how I could come back as fit as possible and make the most of this year after all the setbacks and hurdles," he said.
"I heard [Wallabies forward] David Pocock had used that heat altitude room [for injury comebacks] and it was a huge saviour for me, three weeks of training to exhaustion and dry reaching.
"It's pretty taxing and I had to do seven sessions by myself, it was lonely and challenging to get through that.
"I guess I was under the pump having a broken thumb, in reserve grade and being off contract.
"I had to fight like hell, I guess, to work my way out of that situation."
Shillington admitted he came very close to joining former Raiders teammates Terry Campese and Dane Tilse in England, before the lure of home tempted him to sign with the Titans.
"For a while there I was definitely going to go overseas instead of the Titans, mainly because we were open to the idea and wanted the experience of travelling," Shillington said.
"My manager got a few phone calls about my ability but halfway through my injury Ricky assured me I'd be back in first grade when I was injury free. I didn't have to look at options then.
"I just had to persevere and weather the storm, show some resilience and get back on top."
The prospect of he and wife Sonia, also a Queenslander, being closer to family for children Eve, 18 months, and Ted, three months, was a major factor in signing his two-year Titans deal.
"We've never had a good support network down here with the grandparents still in Brisbane, we've always done it by ourselves and never known any better," he said.
"It'll be a pleasant shock for us with the cousins and grandparents around to socialise with and share special times when the kids are growing up.
"A lot of Sonia's friends have had babies or are having babies, I'm looking forward to her experiencing that."
Shillington's departure spells the end of an era for the Raiders front row.
At their peak Shillington, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (Melbourne), Brett White (retired) and Dane Tilse (Hull KR) were one of the NRL's most feared and experienced prop rotations.
He joined the Raiders in 2009 after then Roosters teammate Nate Myles gave Canberra head coach Neil Henry a glowing endorsement, having worked with him in Queensland Origin.
The wheel will turn full circle when he plays under Henry at the Titans next year.
"I feel like I've been pretty lucky coming down here. I feel like it was the right choice for me," Shillington said.
"Looking back on it I had a fair few options when I was leaving the Roosters and Canberra wasn't first choice at the time, because the city can get a bad rap.
"I was looking to get coached by Neil Henry who was the Queensland assistant coach at the time, but he left during negotiations and Furnsey [David Furner] took over.
"I had a great relationship with Furnsey when he was here, he put a pass in my game and helped me out with things like that.
"He was my favourite player growing up but I didn't tell him at the time because it would have looked like a suck up.
"I feel I've played reasonably consistent footy and been a good leader for the boys, in hindsight it was a great decision."
Shillington is departing just as he can sense Canberra's modest on-field results beginning to turn.
Their squad is largely unrecognisable from just two years ago, when Stuart took over and began an overhaul of the playing roster.
In 2013 Furner and star players Blake Ferguson and Josh Dugan were sacked. Although they will miss finals for a third straight year, shrewd recruiting and the blooding of talented youngsters has put them on the right path.
"You don't say a lot at the time but looking back it was a really broken and hurt playing group and club," Shillington said.
"I don't think Ricky knew what he was in for when he first got here, he had to do a lot of repair work before he could move forward with his coaching.
"I said at last year's presentation night some of the things Ricky's trying to put in place were only starting to gain traction.
"The results haven't been there for us yet but we've certainly put the principles in place to improve those."
As for his his Raiders highlight?
"It's hard to go past those couple of finals runs we had [in 2010 and 2013], big winning streaks and getting through to the second week of the finals," he said. "It was good to prove a few people wrong."
RAIDERS TO BE FAREWELLED MONDAY
David Shillington
Games: 129
Raiders debut: Round 1, 2009 v Wests Tigers
The last of Canberra's big-name props to leave, Shillington will play his 130th Raiders match on Monday and played all his representative football when at the club. A noted off-field leader for one of the NRL's youngest sides, he will be hard to replace.
Mitch Cornish
Debut: Round 11, 2014 v North Qld.
Games: 14
The Junior Kangaroo was given first crack at Canberra's halfback jersey this year, but after four games was dropped in favour of Sam Williams. With Gold Coast playmaker Aidan Sezer joining the club next season, Cornish has been forced out and has attracted interest from English Super League clubs and Parramatta.
Mark Nicholls
Debut: Round 17, 2012 v St George Illawarra
Games: 19
The prop elected to pursue other options after struggling to crack a regular first grade spot, managing just 19 games since his debut in late 2012. Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors, coached by former Raiders assistant Andrew McFadden, have both made inquiries. One of those clubs likely to be his new home.
Kyle O'Donnell
Raiders debut: Round 5, 2014 v Penrith
Games: 5
O'Donnell made all five of his Raiders appearances last year, where he provided solid front-row back-up when injuries struck. The brother of former Test forward Luke, he showed enough to earn a one-year extension but hasn't played first grade this year.
Mitch Cronin
Games: 0
One of many Souths Logan products at Canberra, Cronin played in the 2012 under-20 grand final loss to Wests Tigers. Was signed by the club as a five-eighth or fullback but has converted to hooker recently and has played utility for Mounties in NSW Cup this year.
Jack Ahearn
Games: 0
A fullback with good ball skills, Ahearn represented the Junior Kangaroos in 2013 but has been unable to crack first grade. Also played in the halves alongside Cornish in last year's NSW Cup representative team.
Others to leave mid-season: Dane Tilse (Hull KR), Bill Tupou (Wakefield).
