It began in Matt Geyer's basement 19 seasons ago and, 429 games later, Cameron Smith insists he "doesn't fear life after football" if Sunday's NRL grand final is his farewell.
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The Storm captain was chaired off Suncorp Stadium by teammates and given a standing ovation by fans after Friday's defeat of Canberra set up a seventh grand-final appearance for the Storm hooker.
He maintains those theatrics were not a retirement announcement though, Smith refusing to confirm if his 430th NRL game - against Penrith at ANZ Stadium - will be his last.
"It's no different to the last three months (of speculation) really, it's been going on all year and I am really comfortable with that," the 37-year-old said on Monday.
"I totally understand there is going to be interest in what I am going to be doing next year but players retire all the time.
"I don't fear life after football; I am comfortable with where I am at and if this is to be my last game then I will have to adjust to life after playing footy."
Smith allowed himself some nostalgia on Monday though, recalling his first months in Melbourne living rent-free in Storm great Matt Geyer's basement.
"I didn't have a lot of money in the bank and was trying to save up for a house," he said.
"The way I paid off the rent was to babysit his three children.
"Boofa (Geyer) has been a huge part of my life in not only my journey as a football player but as a person, husband and father.
"I am lucky to have three beautiful children and lovely wife who have sacrificed plenty in their own life to enable me to play for such a long time. Moving forward that is all I need."
Entering their fourth decider in the last five years, the club and Smith have attracted their fair share of critics for a variety of reasons, including the apparent delay in Smith's decision to play on.
"We can't control what opinions people have of us as a club or individuals," Smith said.
"That's fine, we're just going to control what we can control and we're not looking for any sort of acknowledgement from anyone; we just want to satisfy ourselves.
"Outside of 2010 for different reasons (when stripped of two premierships for salary cap breaches) this has been the most difficult season.
"It's been a remarkable effort for this team to make the grand final, but what we've done over the past 22 weeks isn't going to get us a result on Sunday."
Australian Associated Press
