No one could ever accuse Matt Ballin of not giving his all.
After 11 seasons, 220 NRL games - including 182 straight at Manly - three grand finals, two premierships, one State of Origin cap for Queensland and 7931 tackles, the tough-as-teak hooker retired on Monday.
The Wests Tigers announced he was hanging up his boots immediately after succumbing to persistent knee injuries which had dogged him over the last three years.
It was his right knee that forced him to give the game away and not his left knee which underwent two reconstructions - in 2015 in his final year at Manly and again in 2016 after managing just two games in his debut season at the Tigers.
Ballin said his left knee feels as strong as ever but he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee in his comeback game against St George Illawarra in round five this year.
That injury refused to heal.
So after just three games over the last two years, at age 33, one of the game's hardest workers has been forced into retirement.
"All the time," Ballin said when asked if he had at times cursed his body for letting him down.
"But If I look at my career before those two knee injuries, I played 182 games straight, over 200 for Manly so I was really blessed to have that time and that consistency in playing footy.
"You could look at it two ways. Playing over 200 games, win two premierships and meet all these great people, I never would have thought that was possible."
Ballin, a native of the peanut-farming town of Kingaroy in country Queensland, was never the most athletically blessed player but left his blood, sweat and tears on the field.
Since 1998, when records started being kept, he ranks as having made the 15th most tackles of any player at an average of 36 per game, according to Fox Sports Stats.
He is looking at finishing his teaching degree and plans to move back to his native Queensland.
During his rehabilitation he has regularly visited Goulburn Correctional Centre where he has worked with prisoners, teaching coaching courses and trying to aid in their integration back into society.
"It puts everything in perspective," Ballin said.
"If I'm feeling a bit down about my knees and having to retire from the sport, which is a challenging thing, but I look at those guys and the adversity they face.
"They've got a lot of challenges ahead coming back into society and being valuable members and seeing them be happy with simple things like learning how to coach footy players and learning to a be a resourceful member of society is fantastic.
"For me, that's what it's all about - education and improving and trying to help other people."
