Of all the State of Origin teams in all the towns in all the world, Tevita Pangai Jr could only walk into Brad Fittler's.
The Bulldogs forward is not just the biggest New South Wales bolter of Fittler's coaching tenure, he's one of the most unexpected selections in recent State of Origin history.
It's the kind of call only a combination of injuries to a host of Blues forwards and Fittler's penchant for thinking outside the box could provide. And now, with Pangai Jr set to start in the front row next weekend at Adelaide Oval, New South Wales will play their ultimate wildcard.
"He'll be relentless. He'll be ruthless. That's T's game, coming straight on and giving it his all and putting some fear into the other pack," said Pangai Jr's front-row partner and former Broncos teammate, Payne Haas.
"It's good to get behind him. He has that mongrel in him and playing next to someone like that is pretty cool. I've missed it at Brisbane since he's been gone."
It's not a question of whether Pangai Jr has the ability to play Origin because talent has never been a problem for him. As one of the game's great hunters with a knack for big plays and one-on-one battles, he's got the physical qualities and instincts to thrive in the fast-paced, hard-hitting world of interstate football.
His best times stick in the memory because they are so big and bold and explosive. You can't forget them once you've seen them, and he has it in him to be the kind of player who casts a shadow in which nothing good nor godly can ever grow.
But the problem is we've also seen the other side — the ill-judged offloads, poor judgement off the field, the moments where Pangai Jr's aggression has controlled him rather than the other way around. It's happened this way often enough that plenty have subscribed to the old adage that at some point you can't salvage potential.
Those down times, like the glory days, are hard to forget and there have been more of the former than the latter for too long for Pangai Jr, even as he's put together a solid season for Canterbury, where he's currently averaging 129 metres per game and has starred in their weekend win over the Titans.
But even then, one fine afternoon does not a season make. The key to understanding what Pangai Jr is doing here and why he has been called in from the wilderness to lead the opening charge for the Blues may be contained in the six games he played with Penrith in 2021.
With a host of current and former Panthers dotting Fittler's squad, they all understand what Pangai Jr is capable of and what he can provide the sky-blue jersey.
"He'll bring energy. He's always had that tough mentality, he's always been a big boy, a big player, a frontrunner. I know he's up for the big job," said Blues teammate Brian To'o.
"He's really got that big brother mentality of looking after everyone and getting in front of everyone. He's definitely up for the big challenge.
"When he was at Penrith, it was one of those moments where we only had three months together but we all felt like we'd have known him for a long time. That's the sense of connection I have with big Tevita — he's one of my bodyguards."
With the Panthers ravaged by injury late in that season and Brisbane sick of making allowances for Pangai Jr, he was granted an early release and he signed with the title challengers on a short-term deal ahead of his move to Canterbury the following season.
Ivan Cleary's side went on to win the grand final, but at the time Pangai Jr joined the club, its victory was far from assured. And while he missed the decider through injury, the team may never have made it without him.
Pangai Jr was particularly effective in the preliminary final victory over Melbourne where his aggression and physicality helped set the tone for an upset Panthers victory that helped pave the way for the club's breakthrough premiership.
He played just 15 minutes that day, dominating the opening exchanges before succumbing to a hamstring injury in the second half that ruled him out of the grand final.
His only mission was to disrupt and destroy in the opening 10 minutes, to knock a historically dominant Melbourne Storm team around and bring Penrith into the fight. That's exactly what he did and such simplicity is the key, according to former Panther and current Blue Api Koroisau.
"If you tell him what you want him to do, he'll go and do it. If you give him a single job and he puts everything else out of his mind, he can execute it. He was huge for [Penrith] in the back end of that year," Koroisau said.
"That's what Ivan wanted from him and that's what he got. To bring that kind of explosiveness to the Origin arena will be massive for us."
It's a blueprint the Blues may well follow. What they are likely asking Pangai Jr to do is highly specific and totally aligned with what he does well. He doesn't need to run for 200 metres like Haas, he doesn't need to play 80 minutes like Isaah Yeo, and he doesn't need long minutes to do his best work like Junior Paulo.
He is here to break things, to put a nanosecond of fear into men who have forgotten what fear feels like — because in Origin, that's what can make the difference. He is here to play with no hesitation or self-preservation, and to hit things so hard his opponents still wince about it years later.
It will not be easy. Queensland's forward pack is young and hungry and as mean as a pack of starving dogs. Bringing them to heel, even temporarily, will require 20 of the best minutes of Pangai Jr's life.
Victory will validate this choice from Fittler and put Pangai Jr's career in a new light. It'll change the way we think about him, reframing him forever.
He'll enter the Origin mix for Game II and possibly beyond, and all the great things that once seemed possible for him could still happen.
Defeat will banish him to the underside of Origin history, the answer to a trivia question that makes people shake their heads and wonder what on earth the Blues were thinking and why the hell Fittler would take a chance on a player like this.
As with so much of Pangai Jr's career, the stakes are high, the ceiling is higher and the floor is terrifyingly low. In selecting him, a fuse has been lit and detonation awaits.
If anyone tells you they know which side will cop the better end of the explosion, they're kidding themselves. They do not know because not knowing is what makes it a wildcard.
