Andrew Walker will say goodbye to rugby union this weekend at the very place where it all began.
He'll line up against Argentina for his old club, Randwick, 31 years after first discovering his love of the game.
As a teenager, he was taken to watch Randwick play the New Zealand All Blacks - and it was then that rugby union was planted firmly at the centre of his being.
In the intervening 30 years, Walker went on to represent Australia at both rugby league and rugby union and he is the first man to achieve the feat in that order.
And although that achievement ranks highly with him, returning to what he calls "Mother Earth" on Saturday - where it all began at Coogee in Sydney's Eastern suburbs - will be right up there too.
Andrew Walker before playing the final game of his illustrious career against Argentina. Source: SBS News/John Baldock
"Putting on the green-and-gold for both codes was huge, but the biggest memory will be here," he told SBS News.
"The game against Argentina is going to farewell me from the game I loved to play and watch."
There are plenty of fans who will be sad to see Walker go.
Former star Gary Ella says he remembers the first time he saw Walker play.
Ella played in Randwick's famous clash with the All Blacks in 1988 and the year after that he was left in awe by a 16-year-old Walker's skills at a club training session.
"I saw him kicking field goals from half-way, I saw him place the ball down and he was kicking them from the sideline and I thought 'who is this kid kicking the ball?'," Ella remembers.
But all the success and fame he achieved in his 103 matches with the NRL club the Sydney Roosters - and being a crucial part in the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby win in 2001 - came at a high price.
Gary Ella. Source: Supplied
Walker famously walked out on the Wallabies squad not once but twice in the same year.
He blamed family issues but also had issues with drugs and alcohol later in his career too.
Now, he says those issues made him stronger.
"I wouldn't change it for the world. I had the highs and lows in the game and I learned a lot from them and that brings out the character in a player," he said.
And it is those off-field struggles that Walker will concern himself with once his playing days end.
He's the founding member of the Break the Cycle charity which helps youngsters overcome issues connected with addictions including self-harm and low self-esteem.
"If you are good in the head and loving what you do it makes it a lot easier in life," he said.
He and his wife Leona are looking forward to spending more time with their five children and four grandchildren.
Andrew Walker’s electric pace and superb skill terrorised defences around the world in rugby union and rugby league. Source: Getty Images
"We've got four grandkids, the youngest of which is eight - young Bryson - so we've stretched it out and it's kept us sane," he joked. "We've got a loving family."
Walker leaves the game he loves on Saturday, but he's living proof the biggest obstacles in life can always be overcome.
