As the experienced Roosters bull Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and young Canterbury calf David Klemmer were going hammer-and-tongs against one another on Friday night, unyielding Bulldogs interchange forward Tim Browne carried on unhindered.
While Browne had limited involvement in the game, carrying the ball nine times for 61 metres and making 10 tackles, the 26-year-old Raymond Terrace junior is just happy to be playing consistent football after injury threatened to derail his career only a couple of years ago.
After successive knee injuries constricted him to 18 games over the past four seasons, Browne has punched out every game in 2014 and is a happier man for it despite the Bulldogs' last start loss against the Roosters.
"I wouldn't say we were due for a loss but that happens, it's probably the beauty of the game you can't control the uncontrollable," Browne told NRL.com after his team's 32-12 defeat.
"We're not disappointed. We've played some good footy over the last couple of months and we're looking forward to the back end of the season and building on it. It's a long season. I'm very happy with [my own form].
"I'm playing some consistent footy. It's great to be a part of this squad. It's a star-studded line-up and I have to keep it going. I've enjoyed every moment of it, playing week-in, week-out. I am loving it, mate."
While he didn't start playing rugby league until he was 16, Browne was chancing his hand in the big leagues only three years later with Souths and then Manly before arriving at the Bulldogs in 2010.
"All my mates started playing and I thought why not. I was a bit of a soccer head and just got a bit big for soccer and I was like, 'okay I can do alright at footy then'," Browne said.
"I suppose the mateship of football is probably better than playing the game itself with the friends you make, that's what I love about. To play NRL though, it's just a dream and I am loving every minute of it."
The faith that Bulldogs mentor Des Hasler has in Browne has presumably inspired the man to keep hitting his straps every time he runs out in the blue-and-white as he continues to get better the more he plays.
"He doesn't give away much, let's be honest," laughs Browne.
"He keeps you on your toes. He loves the little things in games so I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. He's a great coach and you can see what he's done in the game over the years and it's great to be a part of his team.
"My goal moving forward is just be consistent and keep giving the boys some energy when I come off the bench and I think I've been doing that the last couple of weeks. I think benches win the big matches so that's what we're going to keep doing."
With a big grin on his face, Browne continues: "I like it in the middle. It's tough and it's fast and that's the way I like to play the game."
