The reconstructed Chris Lewis who made his NRL debut on the cusp of his 28th birthday did so because of the unwavering support of his parents.
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Repair jobs on his battered body - two knee reconstructions, a shoulder reconstruction and an ankle reconstruction - were paid for by Ashford-based Mick and Pauleen Lewis.
It was a continuation of the great support they showed him throughout his junior rugby league days while growing up in Ashford.
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Fittingly, they were at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday night when he came on late in the Storm's 22-8 defeat of South Sydney, and thus became the club's oldest-ever debutant.
The Storm made Mick and Pauleen the designated ball retrievers for the match, as crowds are still barred from games because of COVID-19. Mick - a long-serving former principal of Ashford Central School and a former Group 19 president - coached his son when he was a junior.
Lewis told the Leader that his parents "sacrificed a lot for me to pursue my career in rugby league".
"Obviously, they've given up a lot of things along the way for me to get to where I got to," he said. "So, it was a really amazing experience to have them there with me [on Friday]."
Lewis's debut came about a decade after he left Ashford as a 17-year-old to pursue his goal of becoming an NRL player - and what a ride it has been. Coming on against the Rabbitohs was a "dream come true" for the second-rower, who has utility value.
Post-match, the 190 centimetre and 108 kilogram forward told NRL.com that he would hang his game jersey on a wall and "never touch it again".
He said: "I've been through the wringer a little bit. I've had two knee reconstructions, I had a shoulder reconstruction, I've had my ankle rebuilt, had thumb surgery ... I've been cut from every team you can possibility get into.
"So, this [debuting in the NRL] is an amazing thing for me personally. It's my 28th birthday next week, and this is something that's a dream come true for me."
Melbourne signed Lewis in November after he played for the their feeder club, the Sunshine Coast Falcons, in the Intrust Super Cup in 2018 and 2019. He was named the Falcons' best forward both years.
Lewis signed with St George-Illawarra straight out of high school, and played SG Ball for the Illawarra Steelers. When he left the Dragons, he played for the Shellharbour Sharks, the Thirroul Butchers, the Helensburgh Tigers and the Illawarra Cutters, before re-signing with the Dragons for the 2017 season.
He was on the outer at St George-Illawarra and, consequently, was miserable there. Next stop was the Falcons, although he got another chance to keep his NRL dream alive when he spent the preseason with the Storm prior to the 2018 season.
"It's been an amazing journey getting here [to Friday night]," he said. "I started with just the [2020] preseason and worked my way up. It's been a great experience, loved every minute of it ... hard work and dedication, and these sort of things happen."
Lewis was working as a history teacher at Caloundra State High School when he signed a one-year development contract with Melbourne.
