The above picture shows Roosters prop Cameron McDonald urging his teammate, Kyle "Yum Yum" Cochrane, to rise after he was hurt in the side's recent elimination final defeat of Gunnedah at Kootingal.
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"Get up, mate," he said in Cochrane's ear, or words to that effect.
Cochrane - who had earlier scored a long-range solo try, the first of the match - rose and continued to cause the Bulldogs grief down the right edge, delivering a lovely one-handed pass in a tackle to send No.6 Sam Taylor over and then barging over for his second try, en route to Kooty winning 54-18.
When Cameron, a lock-turned-prop, and Cochrane, a prop-turned-centre, take to the field in Saturday's grand final against North Tamworth at Jack Woolaston Oval, it will be another cherished shared moment in what has been a lifelong, very close relationship between the cousins.
They grew up together in Goodooga, a NSW town located on the banks of the Bokhara River, and, according to a 2016 census, boasting a population of 247.
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It was there that they made their first-grade debuts (McDonald was 16 and Cochrane 15) before linking again in first grade at the Mudgee Dragons and West Tamworth.
McDonald, 29, said 30-year-old Cochrane was like his brother. "We grew up together. He's my second cousin, so it's all good ... I've known him all my life."
He's been around. And wherever he goes I sort of go with him ... I may was well just call him my brother, to be honest.
- Cameron McDonald on Kyle 'Yum Yum" Cochrane
"He's been around," McDonald added. "And wherever he goes I sort of go with him ... I may was well just call him my brother, to be honest."
It was Cochrane who convinced McDonald to join him at Kooty last season, after Roosters coach Geoff Sharpe lobbed their and persuaded a host of ex-Lions to sign up.
He had played a handful of games for the Robins in 2017, and was going to join Bendemeer in 2018 after the club was promoted to first grade. Cochrane was not having any of that.
"Yum's the bloke that got me to Kooty, to be honest. He kept coming to get me, and I kept putting it off, saying, 'Nah, nah'. Then he said, 'Just get in the car.'"
It was an arm twist that resulted in McDonald, a longstanding lock, being moved to the front-row this year when Sharpe shuffled Cochrane from prop to centre to lift his form. It was a judicious move.
McDonald explained: "Sharpey said, 'Do ya wanna play front'? And I said, 'Yeah, I'll play up front; it doesn't bother me' ... I might be little but I'll be tough, anyway."
On Saturday, McDonald will attempt to win his debut first-grade premiership. "I'm pretty keen, eh ... There's a few us that's pretty hungry [for a premiership] in that side. All of us, I'd say, are hungry to win tomorrow [Saturday]. We'll show up and give it 120 per cent."
