It's been quite the campaign for nib Newcastle Knights prop Josh King.
The 25-year-old was absent in the first half of the season, stuck behind the likes of the Saifiti brothers, David Klemmer and Pasami Saulo.
After 11 rounds and no games, most would've thrown in the towel.
Not King.
Through nothing other than hard work and an impressive attitude on the training paddock, King forced his way into Adam O'Brien's team.
King: Refocus, form and middle battle
Now, he's determined to stay there.
"In recent weeks we've had lots of blokes playing really good footy, so when you come on you've got to make an impact to stay there week in, week out," King said.
"When I've been coming on late in the half or late in the game, I've just been trying to bring a bit of energy and try and get my face in there somewhere."
King hasn't missed a game since being drafted into the side for Round 12's clash with the Storm.
Last weekend's loss to the Warriors marked his 58th NRL game, an incredible feat considering the hardship King has faced since making his debut in 2016.
Throughout some of the Club's leaner years, King unfairly bore the brunt of fan frustration as the Knights slumped to three-straight wooden spoons and failed to make the finals once.
However, proving those 'fans' wrong is not what's driving King's recent surge of form.
"I got off social media a couple of years ago now so I don't even read any of it anymore," he said.
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"But I want to do it for myself, I don't want to do it for the people who don't think I've got it in me.
"There's no point trying to prove them wrong, I'd rather do it for myself, for my team and for my family.
"That's what it's all about."
Affectionately dubbed "The Hammerhead" by his team-mates, King has impressed despite receiving limited minutes off the bench this year.
He is averaging 55 metres per game with an average stint of just under 20 minutes.
Those are impressive numbers, with some forwards struggling to match them with much more game time up their sleeves.
It's seen King nail down a spot on the bench, and with finals footy just around the corner, the middle-forward isn't losing sight of what needs to be done to feature in his first ever finals series.
"We're definitely not guaranteed anything, there's still four more games to go and a lot of teams fighting below us who could jump us," King said.
"But we can't focus on anything further than this week against the Sharks.
"That's our biggest motivator at the moment."
