On Sunday, a journey that began nearly 20 years ago and 17,000 kilometres away from Canberra will come full circle when Elliott Whitehead takes on Will Pryce during the Raiders' clash with Newcastle.
Between his games in England, France and Australia, the match will mark Whitehead's 375th first-class match, easily the most of any player in the league, while Pryce is at the other end of the scale in just his second NRL appearance.
In all likelihood, it might be the only time the 34-year-old and the young tyro ever lock horns but their football lives have been intertwined for a long time.
Before Will's father Leon was a proud dad flying halfway around the world on short notice to watch his son debut for the Knights, he was a stone cold superstar with Bradford and St Helens in the early 2000s.
A four-time Super League champion and six-time Challenge Cup winner, Pryce was one of the best players in England and a mainstay for Great Britain when he took up coaching West Bowling, an amateur side in Bradford.
It was there he came across a teenaged Whitehead, who he coached as the latter tried to crack the big time.
"I knew Leon since I was young, I left Bradford at 16 and went back to play at West Bowling where he was head coach, he'd pick me up and take me to training.
"His aura stood out. What he'd done in the game, how good he was as a player, how much people respected him.
"You'd take everything he said on board. He was laid back, but he knew how to switch on."
Pryce gave Whitehead his Challenge Cup debut in 2007, a major step on his path to first grade, by throwing him on the wing as a 17-year-old in a match against London Skolars.
From there, Whitehead returned to Bradford and earned his first team debut in 2009. He spent five years as a Bull before heading across the channel to link with French club Catalan Dragons.
It was a tough move for Whitehead – but Pryce was there for him again, this time as a teammate after he made the switch from St Helens a few seasons before.
"Moving over to France was big, but it helped he was there. I stayed with him and his family for six months when I first got there, I didn't really speak French and I didn't know where to go," Whitehead said.
"They looked after me and playing with him, lining up alongside him, was a great honour."
The language barrier wasn't easy for Whitehead, which is where Will comes into the story.
"They'd been there two years before I got there so they were fluent. Every time I went down to the shops I'd say 'come on Will' and he'd help me out, he was only 10 or 11 at the time," Whitehead said.
"It was handy to have him by my side. Seeing where he's got to now is pretty amazing."
Whitehead's French never got better but his football certainly did. His Test debut for England came soon thereafter and a move to the NRL with the Raiders was quick to follow.
Since arriving at the club in 2016, Whitehead has been a constant presence in the backrow for the Raiders, becoming the longest-serving of their many English imports.
He's captained the club for the past three seasons and will play his 200th game for them in a few weeks' time. The tough and skilful Bradford lad is a world away from the skinny kid who stood out on the wing all those years ago.
Now Whitehead is the grizzled veteran, just as Pryce the elder once was as a teammate and coach, and while the ACT is as far from the north of England as a place can be his journey with the family will come full circle as he faces now 21-year-old Will for the first time.
The Pryces will be on hand, just like they were in France all those years ago, and while Whitehead won't be defending on Pryce's side of the field, he'll be keeping an eye out for his former interpreter.
"They'll be there. I've seen them when I've been home but it'll be nice to show them around Canberra," Whitehead said.
"Hopefully I get one over the top of them though, we need this win and once we cross that line it's about me winning that game for Canberra.
"I never thought I'd get to line up against him, but the time has come this weekend. It'll be a good memory for me and his family, hopefully we get out of it injury free and hopefully I win.
"If he comes over my side I'll try and get hold of him but he might be a bit too quick for me."
Speed was the name of the game in Pryce's NRL debut last week – he scored an opportunistic try when he flew onto an offload from Daniel Saifiti and his pace gave the Knights an injection of energy they sorely needed.
With Kalyn Ponga also returning from injury, Whitehead's charges will need to be switched on if they're to handle the rejuvenated Newcastle side.
"He's a dangerous player and the young kids these days have a lot of confidence and belief in themselves, and so they should. It's our job to try and quiet him and Ponga down," Whitehead said.
"We have a big task ahead of us, but as long as we build on what we did last week we'll be alright."
The match shapes as a crucial one for both sides, who are lurking just outside the top eight.
With Canberra dropping their last three games, a win heading into the bye will be crucial – not the least of which for Whitehead himself, who has been linked with a return to Catalan in 2025 and is aiming to finalise his future during the week off.
"We know we haven't performed the way we want to perform," he said.
"We had a little improvement against Melbourne and we need to build on that, it's a big game for us leading into the bye and we've had a good start to the week so we're confident we can do that.
"I'll wait until after this bye to make a decision [on my future] and see if I want to keep playing or if I want to call it a day."
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