On Thursday night, well before Latrell Mitchell was racially abused, there was a reminder at Panthers Stadium of just what he means not to rugby league, but to a community at large.
Through a series of circumstances that aren't worth relaying, I'd managed to get hold of an Indigenous All Stars jersey that was signed by a few players and met a mate on the hill to give it to him.
This mate works for a not-for-profit foundation that assists young Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders boys and he'd brought a heap of them to the game to see their heroes play.
The jersey was signed by three players — two who have represented the All Stars and one who has played plenty of State of Origin and Test football. The boys will love it, my mate said, and the foundation might hang it up somewhere as a reminder of what young men can become.
"Still, would've been better if you got the big fella to sign it," he joked as South Sydney warmed up in front of us and Mitchell fired over a drop kick from somewhere near halfway, cueing delight from the crowd of boys in front of us.
To them, Mitchell is a superhero they can see right in front of them, a man who is larger than life and an inspiration for what's possible. He was once a skinny kid like them and look at him now. Look what he's done.
Mitchell, like Arthur Beetson and Greg Inglis once did and like Josh Addo-Carr and Nicho Hynes do now, speaks to them in a way nobody else can.
While some in the crowd continue to believe Mitchell should "toughen up", Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou said it best when he proclaimed it's not something Mitchell or anybody else should have to tolerate.
And while Demetriou said Mitchell answers his critics with his character every week, and Roosters coach Trent Robinson spoke passionately about how Mitchell was too strong a person to allow this to drive him from the sport he loves, could anyone blame him if he did?
There is a point where it all becomes too much. Adam Goodes, a different man from a different code who provided the same inspiration as Mitchell, is proof of that.
The comparisons between the Swan and the Rabbitoh ran thick and fast on Friday and they are hard to ignore. In 2013, a 13-year-old Collingwood fan called Goodes "an ape" during a match. Goodes pointed her out to security.
Despite Goodes acting with compassion towards the perpetrator in the aftermath, accepting their apology and calling on the community to support and educate them, the incident was the beginning of the series of disgraceful events that drove him away from the sport he'd given his life to.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo declined to make cross-code analogies when he spoke to the media but did say he believed the end of Mitchell's career was a long way away and cited his status as a leader for his community.
"He does unbelievable work off the field in the community. He's passionate about helping young people develop. He plays such an important role off the field for the game," Abdo said.
"The All Stars week is an incredibly special week where the players get to spend time together and also with the community.
"It's just one example of where Latrell's leadership makes a difference well beyond the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he's obviously a leader as well.
"He knows that he's supported by the game. He knows he's got an opportunity to make a difference and be a role model for the game.
"That's a heavy burden we'll continue to support. I'm confident he'll continue to be a hero not just for South Sydney fans, but broader fans in the game."
They are strong, fine words but there's an old saying about actions speaking louder.
When Abdo and the NRL hand down the sanction for the spectator who allegedly racially abused Mitchell, they aren't just speaking to the perpetrator, they're speaking to Mitchell himself and to the entire Indigenous community and everybody else who can be racially targeted — and that includes those boys on the hill.
