The words resilience and culture have become Rugby League buzz words that bounce around the halls of clubs.
They can be difficult to define but easy to identify.
When you see it, you understand immediately.
Brett Greinke will play his 100th Hostplus Cup game this week against the PNG Hunters at the North Ipswich Reserve.
Greinke played his first Hostplus Cup game in 2015 against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, a pack that included Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Kenny Bromwich and the imposing Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Donning the number 11 for the Norths Devils on his debut, Greinke scored a valuable try helping his side to a narrow 24-18 win.
“I was so proud to debut for Norths, dad had coached there and I spent so much time going to Bishop Park to training,” Greinke remembered.
“Just being around footballers and training is such a great childhood memory.
"My two best memories are dad giving Reggie Cressbrook lifts to Jets training and Greg Inglis lifts to Norths training.
“Reggie was my hero at the Jets and Inglis my hero at Norths.
I learnt to love the game on those rides.”
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Reggie Cressbrook - 100th Game congratulations
Heartbreak and injury would follow Greinke, with the veteran never playing more than 22 games in a season.
His resilience shone bright to keep him coming back.
“I just couldn’t give up; I have had seven reconstructions but I just wanted to be able to look in the mirror at the end and say well whatever games I got to was what I was supposed to get to.” Greinke said.
“100 games are a massive deal for me. You should really be ringing me about my 200th.”
Through the injuries came other ways for Greinke to be a leader off the field and contribute to the culture of the Jets, Tigers and Devils.
Brisbane Tigers team mate Jake Foster knows what Greinke brings.
“He’s a leader, even through those dark days when he wasn’t playing as much as he would have wanted, he found a way to contribute,” Foster said.
“He has a great footy brain and if any of those injuries had ended his career you would still find a way to keep him at your club,
“That’s his value, no matter what; he wants to be there and contribute.
Brett is one of the best people I know in football, and I am so proud of him playing 100 games.
He’s one of the people you come across that makes your life better.”
Ipswich Jets former captain Rhys Jacks can’t speak highly enough of Greinke.
“I love that he’s captain of the Jets, one of my proudest moments was passing on the captaincy to him.
“He will make the Jets better.
“He's just a quality human being, I have known him a long time.
“It shows his sense of community that he was a teachers’ aide in my classroom, just being a leader in his community however he can.”
“He’s the ideal Ipswich Jet - tough, resilient and a forward. That’s what they are about.”
Greinke will run out on Sunday for the 100th time in his career knowing that it hasn’t been easy – but it’s been well deserved.
The resilience he has shown will be discussed long after his career is finished, and the contribution he’s made to the game goes far beyond the 100 games he’s played.
