Wade Graham was enjoying a white Christmas in Canada with his young family when he realised he couldn't leave Cronulla.
On the other side of the world, just a week after the club was rocked by the NRL's provisional deregistration of coach Shane Flanagan, Graham would have been within his rights to look elsewhere.
Off contract at the end of 2019, there had been interest from other clubs and Graham had sat through enough dramas, with the peptides scandal the biggest.
But as Sharks co-captain, Graham was in no mood for abandoning ship.
"It's been a very disappointing past month for the club - the stuff that has happened with Flanno, the salary-cap investigation and other incidents," Graham said on Wednesday after putting pen to paper on a new three-year deal that will keep him at the club until the end of 2022.
"But when I was over there away from the club, it reaffirmed how much I wanted to be back here and helping the boys.
"Through that, I just worked with the club and very happy to reach an agreement."
Recent months also haven't been easy for Graham, after injuries had constantly disrupted his 2018 season.
He required surgery on his knee after another injury in last year's qualifying final against the Sydney Roosters. Graham is hoping for a May return.
He and Flanagan are also close, with the Penrith junior the first player the premiership-winning coach signed midway through 2010 when he took over the Sharks.
"I spoke to him before I went away and he wasn't in a great place," Graham said.
"He was someone who really cared about the club, he put 100 per cent in and someone I had a long relationship with.
"It's never ideal to see someone go through that. We're thinking of Flanno.
"Whatever the outcome may be, we've got a lot of great memories at the club, he did a lot of great things and we're just going to have to wait and see what the future holds."
