Josh Reynolds will live to fight another day in Canterbury's best 17 after impressing coach Cameron Ciraldo in his first game for the Bulldogs in almost six years.
Reynolds returned to Belmore via stints at the Wests Tigers and Hull FC and came off the bench in the round-five extra-time defeat of North Queensland on Sunday.
The 33-year-old helped guide the Bulldogs to grand finals in 2012 and 2014 and played State of Origin four times.
But the simple prospect of once again representing his beloved blue-and-whites was enough to give the veteran butterflies in his stomach.
"I was trying to tell myself that I wasn't nervous today but I wasn't hungry one bit and I'm always hungry on game day," he said after Sunday's 15-14 win.
"Deep down, in the back of my mind I knew I was a bit nervy."
Catching a lift to the game with winger Josh Addo-Carr helped calm Reynolds' nerves and just before the hour mark, he came on to rousing applause from the Accor Stadium crowd.
"My first tackle I got called offside and they went straight through, so it wasn't the greatest of starts," Reynolds said.
"I actually gave the ref a bit of a ... I wouldn't call it a spray ... but I said, 'come on mate, I've been out of the game for 2000 days, give me a break. You've blown me a penalty first bloody thing!'"
The veteran played through the middle, a different role than the five-eighth spot he held down in his heyday, and finished with 19 tackles.
"I'm not going to lie, I was blowing. It's a different beast in the middle but the boys got me through," he said.
Reynolds' effort led Ciraldo to declare his first game back for the Bulldogs would not be his last.
"He makes us a better team," the coach said.
"He's going to have his challenges out there, he played in the middle there tonight but he gives us some utility value.
"It might not be the same every week, depending on what team we play and who we go with. Who knows what the future holds?
"But the way he handled himself tonight showed that he's a real asset to our team."
Bulldogs co-captain Reed Mahoney had been coming through Canterbury's junior system as a teenager during Reynolds' first stint at the club. He said the veteran's influence on the team extended beyond the stat sheet.
"His energy is infectious to the group and I think off the field as well, he's been so good for the club. He's brought back the core values of what this club stands for," Mahoney said.
"It was so good to see him run out there and play some footy for the Bulldogs again."
After getting through his first game unscathed, Reynolds will hope for the chance to play in the traditional Good Friday clash with South Sydney this weekend.
If named, Reynolds will be the only Bulldog playing on Friday to have featured for the club in a Good Friday win, with Raymond Faitala-Mariner missing through concussion.
Reynolds has one lasting memory of the fixture - ex-captain James Graham's infamous blow-up at referee Gerard Sutton in 2015.
"Honestly, that's what I think about straight away, it's so funny," he said.
"We've had some cracking games against each other.
"I'm sure all the boys will want to get up."
