To Wayne Bennett, Justin Hodges was always the Broncos' "anointed one".
But it wasn't until a recent meeting that he realised why Hodges deserved Brisbane's sole captaincy.
Bennett confirmed the club's worst-kept secret when the 32-year-old Hodges was officially unveiled as skipper for the 2015 NRL season.
It capped a remarkable turnaround for Hodges who was all but blackmarked by Brisbane when he turned his back on the club that discovered him to chase big bucks at the Sydney Roosters in 2001.
"Yeah, it was bitter," Bennett smiled when asked about Hodges' departure.
"He didn't have to go. He got some bad advice - he was a young man.
"But we have all moved on since then."
Yet it seems Bennett always had a soft spot for Hodges.
"He was pretty special when he came," he said.
"When he started training for us, we thought he was going to die.
"He was a lazy, casual guy and nothing much changed for a long time, but he was very talented.
"He was the anointed one, no doubt about it."
But Bennett admitted he was still surprised by how special Hodges had become at a recent social meeting.
"I went to lunch with him with a couple of people and realised how much he had matured," Bennett said.
"I had kept in contact with him but hadn't really seen him for six years.
"I brought him into the leadership group the year I left (2008) and he didn't want to be there.
"He didn't want to take that responsibility and didn't make a great contribution, but that's fine - it's part of the process.
"But at that lunch, I realised how much he had changed in six years - he had a different outlook."
As a result, Bennett only had eyes for Hodges when naming his new captain on his return after seven years away from his beloved Broncos, overlooking Corey Parker and Sam Thaiday.
Hodges and Parker shared the captaincy in 2014 while Thaiday is a former Brisbane skipper.
"It wasn't so difficult," Bennett said.
"Either of those three would have done a great job but he (Hodges) leads by example - that's very important to me.
"I do enough of the talking."
Asked what it meant to hear Bennett say that, Hodges said: "It means everything.
"He is like our stepfather. That's how I always treated him.
"He's always been there for me.
"He has given me everything I have in football."
Hodges was clearly touched by Bennett's captaincy nod, admitting he never thought he would become sole skipper after the 2001 departure.
But he believed there was something much more special to share with Bennett in the future.
"I started with Wayne and will probably finish with him," Hodges said.
"He gave me my first shot.
"Hopefully, we can share another special moment together.
"I think winning a comp as captain and him as coach would be one of the greatest highlights of my career."
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