Rugby league loves a redemption story, and over the past few months James Gavet's has been told over and over again.
He doesn't have a problem with that, in fact he is more than willing to share his tale of depression, alcoholism and the road to happiness in the hope of helping others.
But the Warriors big man would also like to make one thing clear; it's now time to let his on-field performances do the talking.
"It is a bit nerve-racking having to deliver after a rise and fall, and having to do it with all these pressures around me," Gavet said.
"But there is no better place for me to start playing my best footy.
"[Last weekend] I showed glimpses of how I can play and how I have played in the past, it's hard to take a lot of positives out of how we performed, but I am happy with how I went in the second half.
"I can't wait to just rip into this Broncos team this Friday, they were grand finalists and for me and the whole team if we want to test ourselves then it will happen this weekend.
"This is my most recent former team, it feels like just yesterday I was training alongside them, but it will be good to test myself up against the likes of Adam Blair, Josh McGuire and Sam Thaiday.
"They are all quality players and it will be good to showcase some of my new moves against them."
Gavet was a late starter in the place of Kiwi international Ben Matulino in Round 1, and rewarded coach Andrew McFadden by running for 130 metres off 13 carries, as well as making 17 tackles in his 36 minutes on the park.
The former Bulldogs, Tigers and Broncos enforcer made his intent clear from the opening carry of the game, when his spirited run resulted in the Tigers committing a ruck infringement.
"There was always going to be a bit of banter when you go up against any mate. It was good fun, a healthy rivalry and there was no love lost," Gavet said of his sometimes heated exchanges with his former Tigers teammates.
"I feel like I could add a lot more to the team. After hearing all the outside noise I always go back to my family and they tell me the cold truth a lot of the time.
"They are brutally honest and I take a lot of what they are saying on board. With my defence I have got a lot to improve on."
Despite Gavet taking his starting spot – which McFadden said was all part of their new strategy around prop rotations under the reduced interchange – Matulino is a huge fan of the 26-year-old.
"I thought James was good, we saw what type of player he was with his first carry off the kick off," Matulino said.
"He is definitely someone I look forward to playing alongside, I got to do that in the second half and it was good taking carries straight after him.
"If someone tries it with him he lets them know that he is a dominant force in our forward pack and it's awesome to play alongside him."
