Young Rabbitohs half Connor Tracey will complete one of rugby league's greatest comeback stories when he makes his NRL debut against Parramatta at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night.
Tracey has walked a path of perseverance and sheer determination to succeed despite numerous devastating setbacks.
Three ACL tears to his left knee very nearly robbed the 22-year-old of the chance to realise his rugby league dream.
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For three agonising years, from 2015 to 2017, he did not play a single game.
The first injury occurred while playing for the Cronulla Sharks under-20s, a side stacked with future NRL players like Josh Addo-Carr, Jamayne Isaako, Curtis Scott and Jayden Brailey.
While those Sharks teammates quickly advanced to the top level, Tracey found himself stuck in a lonely nightmare.
He endured a repeat of the shattering injury while training with the Sharks NRL squad in the 2016 pre-season. Another year dashed, more painstaking rehab.
Tracey then signed with South Sydney, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, his knee popped again as he went through exercises with the club physio and he was back at square one.
Most men would have given up in his situation. The damage from the consecutive injuries, both physical and mental, was seemingly more than enough to end a budding career.
But Tracey is clearly an extraordinary exception. He persisted tenaciously, pushing the doubts aside, and returned to the field last season via the reserve grade ranks with Souths' former feeder team, North Sydney.
The De La Salle junior stayed fit and excelled for the Bears, especially impressing with his robust running game. He was deservedly named the competition's five-eighth of the year.
Finally, it seems the universe has given Tracey a break after relentlessly beating him down.
The playmaker earned selection in the NSW Residents team earlier this month – his first representative experience since Australian Schoolboys in 2014.
And now he will cap off his remarkable tale.
Cody Walker's inclusion in the NSW State of Origin team has seen Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett hand Tracey the No.6 jersey for his initial NRL appearance against the Eels.
Walker has little doubt that Tracey will handle the leap to the elite level.
"Connor is a very resilient player, he's had ACL injuries and things like that," Walker said.
"He plays with a lot of injury, but he's not afraid of the contact or to take them on. He plays at a very fast pace and has great ball skills."
Regardless of the result of his performance versus Parramatta, Tracey will have already emerged victorious just by running onto the park.