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Melbourne captain Cameron Smith says this season has been among the toughest but holds no fears of what's ahead as he remains coy on his playing future.
It began in Matt Geyer's basement 19 seasons ago and, 429 games later, Cameron Smith insists he "doesn't fear life after football" if Sunday's NRL grand final is his farewell.
The Storm captain was chaired off Suncorp Stadium by teammates and given a standing ovation by fans after Friday's defeat of Canberra set up a seventh grand-final appearance for the Storm hooker.
He maintains those theatrics were not a retirement announcement though, Smith refusing to confirm if his 430th NRL game - against Penrith at ANZ Stadium - will be his last.
"It's no different to the last three months (of speculation) really, it's been going on all year and I am really comfortable with that," the 37-year-old said on Monday.
"I totally understand there is going to be interest in what I am going to be doing next year but players retire all the time.
"I don't fear life after football; I am comfortable with where I am at and if this is to be my last game then I will have to adjust to life after playing footy."
Smith allowed himself some nostalgia on Monday though, recalling his first months in Melbourne living rent-free in Storm great Matt Geyer's basement.
"I didn't have a lot of money in the bank and was trying to save up for a house," he said.
"The way I paid off the rent was to babysit his three children.
"Boofa (Geyer) has been a huge part of my life in not only my journey as a football player but as a person, husband and father.
"I am lucky to have three beautiful children and lovely wife who have sacrificed plenty in their own life to enable me to play for such a long time. Moving forward that is all I need."
Entering their fourth decider in the last five years, the club and Smith have attracted their fair share of critics for a variety of reasons, including the apparent delay in Smith's decision to play on.
"We can't control what opinions people have of us as a club or individuals," Smith said.
"That's fine, we're just going to control what we can control and we're not looking for any sort of acknowledgement from anyone; we just want to satisfy ourselves.
"Outside of 2010 for different reasons (when stripped of two premierships for salary cap breaches) this has been the most difficult season.
"It's been a remarkable effort for this team to make the grand final, but what we've done over the past 22 weeks isn't going to get us a result on Sunday."