It’s something Dragons forward Jack de Belin is reminded of as he prepares to fight it out with Newcastle for the Alex McKinnon Cup at WIN Stadium on Sunday. 

It will be the fourth time the two clubs have contested the cup since McKinnon’s career was tragically cut short by a horrific spinal injury in March 2014. 

De Belin first lined up alongside McKinnon more than a decade ago at their alma mater St Gregory’s Campbelltown and said his former classmate was always destined for big things.

“It’s pretty crazy to think I’ve known Macca for over 10 years now,” de Belin said.

“I went to boarding school with Alex first and foremost and came down to the Dragons after school. 

“He was already here and I played two years of under 20s with him. He went onto Newcastle and I stayed here and we had some fun little rivalries through that before his tragedy struck.

“It was heartbreaking to see because he had so much talent and he was due for really big things from a really young age.

“You could just see, when I first got to school, everyone had such big raps on him the way he held himself. You just knew he was going to make it.”

Sadly, that career was cut short but – from what started as a tragic chapter in rugby league’s recent past – McKinnon continues to write one of its more inspirational stories.

Now working as a motivational speaker and as an analyst for Fox Sports, de Belin says he continues to draw inspiration from his longtime mate.

“I was only speaking to him the other day and he’s doing really well and he’s really well suited to what he’s doing,” de Belin said.

“He’s doing keynote and public speaking and that kind of work now.  It was heartbreaking what happened to him but he’s really moved on with his life.

“I couldn’t be prouder of him. It makes you realise that footy doesn’t last forever but, just in life in general, you need to be grateful and be in the moment.”

Having fought some tough battles against McKinnon as a junior, the significance of the occasion also isn’t lost on Tyson Frizell.

“Playing against Alex, he was such a fierce competitor,” Frizell said.

“I always loved to come up against him and Jack de Belin when I was playing 20s at the Sharks.

“They were two guys I always wanted to play against because they were the two best players coming through.

“It’d be really nice to hold up the trophy for him.”