Former Salford skipper Lee Mossop would have preferred to be taking to the field as part of his own testimonial fixture next Friday, but has no regrets about the way his career came to an abrupt end midway through last season.
Forced into retirement by injury, the prop forward wasted no time in shifting his focus to ensuring the charities set to benefit from his testimonial could receive the greatest possible boost in fundraising and awareness.
"I'm putting all my energy into this one game, to hopefully get a lot of bums on seats, which will then give us one last push so we can give these charities a good chunk of money at the end of it," said Mossop.
"It was always important to me to choose causes that mean something to me. The Hospice at Home West Cumbria , I had a close family friend who was looked after there in the last days of his life, Two Brews is local to Salford city centre and I've been able to go out and see on a first-hand basis how hard they work, and lastly Kidscan - they really opened my eyes.
"Back in the day, if a little boy or little girl had cancer, they were treated with the exact same drugs as adults. So even those who survive the cancer were encountering other health issues in later life related to the drugs they'd been given at the time.
"Kidscan are helping to develop drugs that can fight the cancers but are not as damaging for children, which I've found amazing."
Although he has had interests outside of rugby throughout his career, the opportunity to make a real difference has invigorated Cumbrian-born Mossop, who has been inspired by the people he has met at each of the good causes.
"When you're as lucky as I've been to be a professional sportsman for so long, you're sort of sheltered from certain things," he said.
"It's probably helped a little bit that I've retired now. Rather than having to think about rugby, I've been able to put a bit more focus into shining a light on these good causes.
"The people involved in these charities are amazing people and they're the sort of people I want to be involved with - I'm a big believer that you become the average of the people you spend your time with and these are definitely the sort of people I want to spend my time with after my career."
Although the fixture between Salford and Warrington will draw an end to Mossop's testimonial year calendar, he intends to continue to be involved with the charities moving forward and was recently named a Brand Ambassador for Kidscan. But does he see himself returning to Salford Red Devils or rugby league in general in the future?
"Probably not to be honest," Mossop admitted. "That sort of chapter has gone for me.
"I don't know what the future holds. I've stayed in touch with a lot of the Salford guys, they were my teammates that became close mates.
"But I've closed that book, so any involvement will just be as a fan or in the background of the club."
The Lee Mossop Testimonial Game between Salford and Warrington takes place at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on February 4, kicking off at 7.45pm. Tickets are available to purchase at this link .
