THERE was a time when Luke Priddis probably thought he would finish his career alongside Rhys Wesser.
Having been cornerstones of Penrith's 2003 premiership-winning team, neither player had envisaged a future where they would leave the foot of the mountains.
That belief was turned upside down at the end of last season when the pair were unceremoniously shown the door as part of a roster purge by coach Matthew Elliott.
Now, they will come face to face again in the Charity Shield at ANZ Stadium tonight but this time on opposite ends of the field -- Priddis for St George Illawarra and Wesser for South Sydney.
"I spoke to a couple of the Penrith boys after he (Rhys) played them at Coffs Harbour and they said he went really well," Priddis said.
"Rhys is probably the same as myself. He's just enjoying being in a new atmosphere.
"I know I've just got the enjoyment of training and playing back again. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it at Penrith but a new club and new atmosphere with new blokes sometimes rejuvenates something you didn't think was missing but was."
Talk to Priddis and you realise he has no regrets about joining the Dragons although he remains disappointed at the way he was treated by Penrith.
Having established a foundation to help autistic and special needs children in western Sydney, Priddis still lives in the area and commutes to Kogarah or Wollongong for training.
It's one of the reasons he hasn't spoken to Wesser since last year. He spends too much time in the car these days.
While the travel is a chore, being coached by Wayne Bennett again makes it bearable. Priddis played under the former Broncos coach from 1999-2001 (including a premiership in 2000) before heading to Penrith in 2002.
Having played under other coaches, including Elliott, John Lang, Mal Meninga and Wayne Pearce, the Dragons hooker described Bennett as the best.
"I suppose that's why he's been around for so long and got the aura that he has," Priddis said. "It's back to the old days where you're learning something new every day."
Priddis is one of the players targeted by Bennett to bring an added dimension of professionalism to the club.
The Dragons are perceived as being mentally soft and unable to close out games and Bennett is hoping Priddis's match-winning qualities will rub off on the rest of the team. "That's one of the main things that Benny has brought us there to do," Priddis said.
"When it comes down to the tight games and putting that experience across that if we go with the game plan Wayne gave us, we'll be good enough if we stick to it."
Bennett has also been working hard on the Dragons' discipline, given their poor record in recent seasons.
Under Bennett's watch, the Broncos were one of the most disciplined teams in the NRL, rarely giving away penalties.
"Giving away silly penalties, et cetera, I've been guilty of that over the last few years and they're the sort of things we've got to try to change," Priddis said.
"Right across the board, everyone has their little habits that they do when they get stressed, so if we keep those checked and going in the right direction we're going to give away less penalties.
"At the end of the game, whether we're in front or not, we're still going to be there with a chance of winning."
The evidence has certainly been promising so far with the Dragons demolishing the Sydney Roosters in Perth before scoring a grinding win over the Bulldogs in Wollongong.
The stakes will be a little higher tonight against the Rabbitohs given the Charity Shield is coveted by both clubs and is regarded as the unofficial start to the NRL season.
"We've got a bit of a purpose that we want from it and we'll go out there and try to achieve that, win, lose or draw," Priddis said.
"As a team we've got a few things we want to achieve moving into the season.
"We've gone part that way in the last couple of trials and Wayne's expressed a few extra things we want to look at.
"That's always been his way. You take care of yourself as a side and you don't worry about the opposition."