If not for Justin Holbrook's need to find a replacement hooker at Gold Coast four years ago, he may not be coaching Greg Marzhew at Newcastle today.
That is the strange reality for both Holbrook and the Knights, who will this week fly to New Zealand for a semi-final with Marzhew as one of their key game breakers in attack.
At age 29, Marzhew's story is already one of many chapters.
There was the breakdancing boy back in Auckland, the teen who formed part of Melbourne's first under-16s side and the try-scoring machine at the Titans and then Parramatta in under-20s.
Most recently he is the metre-eater at Newcastle, getting through bulk yardage out of the Knights' own end before finishing off tries at will further down the field.
But the oft-forgotten period in Marzhew's story are his three seasons during a second stint at the Titans, where Holbrook handed him his debut in 2021.
Back then the Kiwi-born talent weighed in at a few extra kilos for his first 25 first-grade games.
Then when interest loomed from Newcastle the Titans weren't prepared to let Marzhew go, until Sam Verrills hurt his collarbone at the end of 2022.
"So then they asked for Chris Randall off the Knights (and I was moving)," Marzhew recalls.
"It all happened so quick ... it shocked me that week. Because I'm finding out, and then two days later, I'm driving up here.
"But I had some good players I was competing with at Gold Coast. Corey Thompson was killing it. Anthony Don who was the record try-scorer and then Phil Sami.
"They were the safer options. That's just coaching."
Marzhew wants to stress Holbrook did not brush him, and his relationship at the Titans was as good as it is now.
But the noted try-scorer's career would not be what it is now if he hadn't landed at the Knights.
"I was a fringe player at the time," Marzhew said.
"He gave me my NRL debut. And sometimes when you're a fringe player ... I'm not saying that's how he is, but that's just what you're viewed as.
"I came here, I had three years under my belt in the NRL. And it kind of changes things over the years.
"You get a bit of time to showcase your abilities in the top level. And when he came here, that's how our relationship is now."
Marzhew's move to the Knights has proven the right one.
He has scored 59 tries in 86 games for the club, with he and Dom Young among the most potent wingers in the NRL.
The pair have also benefited most from Holbrook's arrival as coach, with plenty of early ball resulting in the Knights scoring an extra 12 points per game compared to 2025.
"He kind of had a laugh when he got here because I lost a bit of weight too," Marzhew said.
"I think in his eyes, he knew that I'm locked in and I'm ready to play some good footy. Especially under him."
