Newcastle's Francis Manuleleua has made an extraordinary rise from Penrith groundsman to a key figure in the Knights' finals campaign.
The 22-year-old Auckland-born forward will confront his former club in Sunday's preliminary final at Accor Stadium, only 13 NRL games into his career.
Penrith brought Manuleleua from New Zealand, but he never played first grade there after progressing through the Panthers' junior system.
Instead, he worked at the club's academy, mowing the grounds while watching senior players train.
"That's the front of Penrith's centre of excellence, I reckon I cut that spot up every single day I was there," he told AAP.
"The boys would walk in while I was mowing that … that was a bit of motivation."
Manuleleua said the job showed him the level required for full-time football, eventually helping drive his move to Newcastle.
His development also required greater discipline. He has acknowledged struggles with sweet foods and growing up in a family "where KFC was something I had every second night".
"People would tell me I had all the talent in the world and I could be the player that people looked up to … but I never worked on the hard, off-the-ball stuff," he said.
Originally a halfback, the Samoan-descended player became a powerful edge forward after being exposed during a NSW Cup pre-season at Penrith.
He now expects to challenge Liam Martin and contain Nathan Cleary, who is managing a foot injury. "Cleary's on that edge so the more I contain those two, the better it is for the team," Manuleleua said.
After training before 1500 supporters, he offered a simple comparison between the clubs: "the lawns are way better."