Dylan Edwards locked himself in his car and had a tearful moment alone when his hopes of making his State of Origin debut were snatched away from him after doing training extras.
But back to full fitness and recalled to the NSW side for game two next Wednesday at the MCG, Edwards is keen to make up for lost time.
Penrith's marathon man fullback has been knocking on the door for NSW selection for the past two years and finally got his chance when he was named to replace incumbent Blues captain James Tedesco for Origin I.
The twist in the tale came as Edwards trained at NSW's Blue Mountains base on the weekend before the series opener.
The 28-year-old suffered a quad injury, handing Tedesco a reprieve with Edwards forced to watch Origin I from the box with Blues coach Michael Maguire.
Edwards has battled for years to establish himself as an NRL player and, after finally getting an Origin call-up, the heartache of missing out on his debut hit hard.
"It was the disappointment of working so hard for so long and then it just disappeared," Edwards told AAP.
"I didn't really think about the future (and whether I'd be back in Blues colours).
"I was fortunate that my family and my fiancee were up there in the resort where we were staying.
"I just had a moment with them and then to myself where I let my emotions out.
"I don't really get emotional like that often, but it meant a lot."
Penrith teammate Liam Martin said Edwards had displayed great strength to put on a brave face and continue to play a role in the Blues' camp.
"He holds himself pretty well and didn't want to show any emotion around the boys. He wanted to keep that energy up," Martin said.
Blues coach Maguire had no hesitation bringing Edwards back in to help NSW level the series and Panthers captain Isaah Yeo says the fullback will have no concerns about throwing himself into the Origin furnace.
"The tougher and the harder the game gets, the better he seems to go," Yeo said.
"On the biggest stage in grand finals he is at his best and he excels and I don't think it'll be any different on Wednesday."
