Kiwis and Dragons stalwart Jason Nightingale announced his retirement from rugby league on Thursday to signal the end of a storied, 12-year career.
The winger played 33 tests for the Kiwis and will finish with over 270 NRL appearances to his name – all of them adorned in the unmistakable 'Red V' of the St. George Dragons.
Nightingale was the epitome of the rock solid winger – a clinical finisher, hugely popular teammate, and an industrious worker whose impact on games often went overlooked.
Now seems like the ideal time to give the unassuming veteran his due.
2010 NRL Grand Final victory
One of the NRL's oldest and proudest clubs, a 31-year title drought hadn't been sitting well with the Dragons and their vocal fanbase.
The disappointment of the previous year, in which they were crowned minor premiers then bundled out of the finals after two-straight losses, only added to the pressure.
And down two points to the Roosters at halftime of their Grand Final showdown, finger nails were wearing thin.
Step to the plate, Mr Nightingale. Six minutes into the second stanza, the big Kiwi eased red and white nerves - leaving Roosters centre Kane Linnett for dead with a step inside to score in the corner and give his team a lead they never came close to relinquishing.
Nightingale soon burst those creaking floodgates open with his second try 14 minutes later, sparking a 26-point unanswered run to bury the Roosters and clinch the Dragons their 15th NRL premiership.
The airborne try
Nightingale was always well acquainted with the route to the try line and forged a reputation for some spectacular, if at times ungainly, finishes.
There's no better example than his effort against the Broncos this season, where he flipped head over heels and to essentially piledrive himself as he dotted down, coming up in clear discomfort.
Another against the Sharks in will be remembered as a classic, perhaps his best. Nightingale is literally perpendicular to the touch line when he places the ball in the corner.
Then there's this pearler for the Kiwis against England in 2015, where he defies the cover tackler to soar across the chalk before sliding across the turf like a wounded seal.
Jaw-dropping scores of this calibre are commonplace in today's NRL, but Nightingale deserves plenty of credit as a trailblazer for the aerial acrobat winger.
Four nations 2010
Still basking in the afterglow of his NRL Grand Final heroics, Nightingale translated his superb form across to the international stage as an integral part of the Kiwis' tournament triumph.
Playing the final against Australia in the cauldron of Suncorp Stadium, against a side which had hammered them just a week earlier, Nightingale was an enormous influence.
Down six points with under 10 minutes to play, the winger pounced on a Benji Marshall grubber to close the gap to two points.
Then, in the dying minutes, Nightingale linked with Shaun Kenny-Dowall in a 60m movement that will be forever entrenched in NZ rugby league folklore.
He set sail down the right-hand touch before flinging an overhead pass infield for Marshall to scoop up, then somehow find its way to Nathan Fien to dot down underneath the crossbar to secure New Zealand's first Four Nations title.
Scenes, as they say.
The 'Happy Haka'
When it came to New Zealand's traditional pre-game challenge, the kid who grew up in Sydney always struggled to invoke his Maori roots.
Nightingale's debut performance at the 2008 Four Nations lived on as a meme for the ages.
It was an admirable attempt to appear fearsome, but it was ultimately just a smile. And for that, we make no complaints.
2014 Four Nations
After finishing the NRL season as the Dragons top tryscorer (16 in 22 matches), Nightingale took that habit to the fourth-edition of the annual tournament.
He scored five tries through four games, good enough for the competition's best, as part of an exceptional New Zealand side.
Lead by long-lost Jason Taumalolo, the Kiwis rode their behemoth of a forward pack and the brilliance of Shaun Johnson to it its second Four Nations title.
Nightingale feasted on the glut of opportunities on offer, scoring in a 30-12 demolition of Australia in the final to round out an undefeated run in front of a raucous crowd at the 'Cake Tin'.
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