JOSH Dugan hobbled away from his Test debut battered and beaten.
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Australia had lost 26-12 to New Zealand in Brisbane in May last year.
Worse, Dugan was in a knee brace concerned about how much time he might spend on the sidelines.
But on Tuesday, a day after clinging on to victory against the Roosters on Anzac Day, Dugan received his second chance.
Paul McGregor’s bid to permanently shift Dugan to the centres for the Dragons failed to launch, after a couple of error-prone games from Kurt Mann. Resetting his career at fullback, it proved no barrier to Mal Meninga including him in the Australian team for the Newcastle showdown with New Zealand on Friday week.
Greg Inglis will play at left centre, with Darius Boyd at fullback.
Of course, Dugan has previously had representative success in the centres.
The move was made to include both him and Jarryd Hayne in the drought-breaking 2014 NSW State of Origin team.
Dugan was one of just five Blues players named in former Queensland coach Mal Meninga for the Newcastle clash.
But then, it’s hard to back-up any claim of bias, given Queensland have won nine of the past 10 Origin series and the Cowboys and Broncos dominate the NRL.
"This is a well-balanced squad and I'm extremely happy with it," Meninga said.
"We have some experience as well as a handful of younger players who I am looking forward to seeing in this arena. It is the fourth most experienced line-up in Australia's Test history but there will also be four players making their debuts.
"This is an incredibly important game for this group. I want to ensure the players have pride in the national jumper and my goal is to establish the Kangaroos back at the top of the international rankings.
"We have a Four Nations tournament at the end of this year and then a World Cup in 2017. This is the start of an important journey for the Kangaroos.”
Having played on the wing for Australia last year, Dugan’s selection means Kiama’s Canterbury centre Josh Morris missed out.
Meanwhile, Dylan Napa avoided charge after being reported for a tackle on Dragons debutant Taane Milne two minutes before full-time on Monday.
Napa’s arm and shoulder connected as Milne and Boyd Cordner clashed heads, the bunker determining the incident warranted a penalty.
As a result, it denied the Roosters the chance to pinch victory in a dramatic finish to the annual Anzac Day battle.
Post-game, Roosters coach Trent Robinson launched an extraordinary attack on referee Ben Cummins and the NRL officials, over the decision.
Second-rower Joel Thompson will miss the trip to New Zealand to play the Warriors, if he takes the early guilty plea for a careless high shot on Aidan Guerra.
Sam Moa will be free to play Newcastle with an early plea for dangerous contact on Josh McCrone.
