It wasn’t dark ages, but it certainly wasn’t the Centre of Excellence the club boasts today. It had all the latest cardio equipment – rowers, tread mills, stationary bikes, elllipticals.

There was also an ancient looking stepper that looked more suited to a council pick-up pile than an NRL gym. It went completely untouched 

In the early months of preseason when skin folds are a major focus, those cardio machines are always occupied for pre-training ‘extras’. All except that stepper.

Then, in the summer of 2007, Petero Civoniceva arrived. He walked into the gym and went straight to that stepper for his extras. He worked away for half an hour and then went outside for training.

It seemed pretty innocuous but, after that day, that stepper never went lonely again. You wanted it, you had to get in line. ‘If it’s good enough for Petero, it’s good enough for me’ was the prevailing sentiment.

Petero probably didn’t think much of it. He was just going about his business, but everyone was watching. He had ‘presence’. He led without even trying just by virtue of his character and experience.

For the Panthers, it was something that had been decidedly lacking. For many, it was strange to watch Petero run around in anything other than a Bronocs jumper, but his arrival injected belief.

For Petero, the shift gave a man with nothing left to prove the drive to do just that all over again.

There are plenty of parallels between Civoniceva’s arrival in Penrith and that of James Graham in Wollongong this season. He was the heart and soul of Bulldogs and, like Petero at Brisbane, most of us thought he’d never depart Belmore.

Always a realist, Graham told Kickofff earlier this preseason that he was always awake to that possibility.

His preseason has been short due to the World Cup but, as any number of Dragons players will tell you, he’s made a difference merely by his presence.

His absolute best football may be behind him (it very well may not be) but his impact is not restricted to game day.

The Dragons have made just one finals appearance in six seasons. In that time, Graham has played 19 Test matches, 11 finals matches and two grand finals.

That resume injects belief into club that has sorely lacked it. Those late-season jitters were enough to see them wobble off the  finals tightrope last season. 

A look at their roster, at for and against, at virtually everything other than wins and losses showed they had the tools to be a finals side – the belief just wasn’t there.

The addition of Graham, might just be enough to finally get them over the line.