If Moses Mbye inspires a Queensland victory in next week's State of Origin opener, NSW will only have one of their own to blame.
At 25, Mbye will complete an unorthodox journey from his Sunshine Coast home to a Maroons jersey when he makes his Origin debut off the bench on June 5.
Wests Tigers captain Mbye admitted he had a lot of people to thank for his proud moment but reckoned former Blues halfback Brett Kimmorley may just be on top of that list.
Back in 2011, a 17-year-old Mbye was already running around for first grade team the Noosa Pirates before attending an ID camp hosted by NRL club Canterbury.
Kimmorley - who played 10 games over 10 years for NSW - was Bulldogs halves coach at the time and liked what he saw from the livewire Mbye.
"He (Kimmorley) saw something in me that he liked and I went down to the Dogs for 12 months and played SG Ball (under 18s) and ended up spending seven years there," Mbye said.
"So I do have a lot to thank him (Kimmorley) for but there are so many in my journey - to get to this spot, a lot of people have played a part."
Thanks to Kimmorley's keen eye, Mbye was signed by the Bulldogs and rose through the junior ranks before eventually launching a five-season, 94-game stint at Belmore.
Mbye earned Queensland recognition too, playing under-20s before being asked to attend their Emerging Origin camps.
Yet Mbye's quest to seal Origin selection was far from over.
He signed a four-year deal with the Tigers, linking with the joint venture on a mid-season release in 2018.
Based in western Sydney Mbye seemed even further away from the Queensland team but the utility never gave up hope.
"Not really. There are always opportunities in this game with injury and suspensions, but they don't come up often so you have to be ready to take them," he said.
In the end injuries and the retirement of future Immortals Billy Slater and Greg Inglis finally opened the Origin door for Mbye to snap up the key bench utility role.
It was worth the wait.
"You always have adversity in your life but that can only add inspiration," Mbye said.
"It's good to touch on those things every now and again. Remember how you did it.
"It does make you stronger, it adds character. I wouldn't have changed my journey if I had to do it again."
