As he collapsed to the ground clutching his leg in the first half against the Bulldogs last weekend, the first thoughts of anyone familiar with the back story of Broncos outside back Jordan Kahu were invariably, 'Oh no'.
It was the same reaction at a trial game in Redcliffe last February when having already been through two knee reconstructions he fell to the ground with just a minute left to play clutching at his left knee.
On the field he was told it was another ACL injury that would end yet another season before it began. It wasn't until he awoke from surgery some two weeks later that he was told the good news that surgeons had repaired his medial ligament, not the dreaded ACL.
So when Bulldogs five-eighth Moses Mbye crashed into Kahu's leg last Saturday night in Sydney it sent shudders through his partner Jess and his family but the man himself insists any pain of the past is just that as he prepares for his 13th game of the season against the Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
"Myself personally, I'm sweet, but every time I go down everyone else around me and all the staff and all my family are a bit scared for me," Kahu conceded, who was left with a cork to his left calf that he has had to ice all week in preparation for Sunday.
"But myself, I can't keep playing knowing that I've had that history so I've just got to back myself and I'm sweet now."
Teammate Alex Glenn has followed Kahu's progress closely since he emerged as a talent playing schoolboy football for Keebra Park High School on the Gold Coast, a rugby league nursery with an affiliation with the Wests Tigers.
Given his struggles with injury since joining the Broncos, Glenn is delighted that the 24-year-old is now beginning to showcase his talents on a regular basis in the NRL.
"I've always seen the talent that he's had and just due to his injuries he hasn't been given the time to produce his performance and show the world what he's capable of," Glenn said.
"To see him play some great, consistent football and playing with a lot of confidence is something that I'm very happy to see and grateful for him to stick strong with his dreams and not give it up.
"I've known Jordan for a long time now. I watched him play at Keebra Park when he was in the school comp and I first saw his talent then and since then I always knew it was in him.
"He got struck with some heavy injuries and opportunity-wise he didn't get the chance but to see him come out this year, he's playing with a lot of confidence and all of us we have the confidence in him as well."
Prior to 2015 the most number of NRL games Kahu had accumulated in a season was 10 in 2013, but this year he has scored five tries and kicked a handy 12 goals from 18 attempts in 12 games for the ladder leaders.
He is off-contract at the end of the season but coach Wayne Bennett has intimated that he won't be going anywhere, saying that the club won't be letting the good ones go anymore.
