Long before they locked horns in a fiery State of Origin confrontation, Johnathan Thurston threw down the gauntlet to Josh Reynolds.
The Cowboys superstar didn't know it at the time, but his interest in potentially returning home to Canterbury would inspire Reynolds to new heights that would eventually culminate in the end of Thurston's and Queensland's Origin dominance.
Ahead of his return from a three-game suspension against Penrith on Friday night, Reynolds reveals how Canterbury's pursuit of Thurston before the start of the season motivated him to become the player the Bulldogs would never want to part with.
"What club wouldn't be interested in a guy like that," Reynolds said of Thurston.
"I know that if I was a coach, you'd want him there because he's one of the best, if not the best, half in the world. It's happened to me before when there was talk Kieran Foran might be coming over.
"Des [Hasler] sat me down at the start of the year. He told me that it was nothing against me and I'd still be there and I trust Des. He wouldn't do that to me. It didn't happen but it drove me, 100 per cent. When you hear things about who they might get or want to get, it drives you. I definitely want to be at this club forever. I'm not going to lie, I don't care if the Bulldogs throw me the next deal that's worth nothing. I love this place so much and it would be very hard to leave here."
Reynolds is Canterbury through and through.
He grew up in the area, lives in the area, recently bought a house in the area and is the only Bulldogs junior in the Canterbury team set to run out on to ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
He also understands the history of the club, which is why at the age of 25 he is already thinking about the legacy he wants to leave at the Bulldogs.
"I look at guys like Terry Lamb and Jim Dymock, who are some of the club's greatest players, and I love that they are around and everyone knows them," Reynolds said.
"You can tell the legacy they've built is still here. I think they'd come in every day feeling good about themselves knowing what place they hold in the club's history. That's how I want to be remembered. They know I'm not a classy player but I want to be remembered as the guy who gave everything for this club.
"I love the supporter base we've got and I know a lot of them by face just because I've always been around the area. I love the way my life is at the moment around this place. Everyone knows me, they know what I'm about, they know I'm not a superstar but I just have a go and that's what I want people to think of me. Hopefully they know I haven't changed. I always said to myself that if I go okay in footy, I never want to change. Hopefully that's the way they look at me."
In Reynolds you could not have asked for a more grounded individual who understands the role he has to play in giving back to the game that has given him so much in such a short time.
Despite his competitive and aggressive nature on the field, he's one of the most likeable and approachable off it.
He and halves partner Trent Hodkinson shouldered most of the media commitments, community events and promotions throughout NSW's Origin campaign, never shying away from their duty to the game when some of the more senior players could not be bothered.
The suspended Reynolds never got the chance to catch up with Thurston before last Saturday's game at ANZ Stadium, not because he holds a grudge over his counterpart's antics during Origin II, but because he was helping sell Bulldogs merchandise at one of the ground's stores.
His return from suspension for a shoulder charge on Will Chambers in Origin III could not come at a better time for Des Hasler's men, who have lost their past two games without their five-eighth.
While there is still plenty of work to be done for them to reach their second grand final in three years, Reynolds insists the pain of the 2012 premiership defeat to Melbourne will serve as a reminder of what's at stake in the coming weeks.
"I'll never ever forget that day," Reynolds said of the 2012 grand final loss to the Storm.
"I was just so disappointed. Melbourne played well but we knew in ourselves we could have won that game. We had such a great season and opportunities like that are very hard to come by. I know I'm going to do everything in my power to get us in that same situation again. It was one hell of a ride."
