Klint Hoare is now Head of Performance at the Burleigh Bears, after working with NRL match officials for 10 years and serving at the Sharks, Raiders, Titans and Samoan Rugby League.
Before Scott Sorensen became a four-time premiership winner, the pair trained together at Jenola Fields, an old hockey ground near Hoare's home in the Sutherland Shire.
Hoare began training with Sorensen there in 2014, before Sorensen made his Sharks debut that August.
The two called the ground the 'Field of Dreams': a place for determined young players on the edge of an NRL opportunity, or trying to revive their careers.
After each grand final, Sorensen sent Hoare the same text message.
By then, Sorensen was running out before crowds of more than 80,000 on the first Sunday in October, but their connection began when it was often just the two of them at the field.