The Papua New Guinea International hobbled into a limited preseason with the Dragons after picking up a knee injury while playing for the Kumuls.

It saw him spend a lot more time in the rehab room than on the training paddock, but the soon to be 24-year-old said it proved a career wake-up call. 

“I had that knee injury from the World Cup I was carrying last year and I just I just thought to myself ‘it’s time to stop mucking around and get on top of it’,” Macdonald said.

“You’ve just got to know when to put footy first sometimes and, personally, I’ve changed a lot on and off the field and away from footy when no one’s watching

“I think when I first came in [to the Dragons] I was still a bit young, 22, and I was just enjoying life a bit too much. 

“Now I’m being a bit more professional, coming into training and making sure I’m doing everything right.

“I’m looking after myself a bit better, not doing anything stupid, not going out all the time, eating well, not just doing whatever I feel like and it’s showing out there on the field.”

The attitude shift has paid major dividends on the paddock, with Macdonald leading the Dragons in running metres – averaging 150 metres a game – and tries, with six.

At 192 centimetres and 110kgs, the Cairns Brothers junior is seemingly custom-built for Origin and his early-season form has thrust him right into the Queensland selection frame.

Barring injury, he would need to unseat current Test players in Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai but Macdonald makes no secret of his ambition to pull on the Maroons jumper. 

“Obviously growing up in Cairns it’s been a massive dream of mine,” he said.

“Anyone who grows up up there knows how massive Origin and the Maroons are. Everyone just lives and breathes Queensland.

“Hopefully one day I get to chuck that jersey on. We’ll just see what happens.”

He’ll get another chance to press his claims against Melbourne on Sunday, with the match-up on the fringes sure to be one of the most intriguing battles.

“It’ll be a good match up, they’ve got really good wingers,” Macdonald said.

“We’ve got Gypsy [Jason Nightingale] and [Josh] Addo-Carr out on the other wing and me and [Suliasi] Vunivalu, so it’s an exciting match-up.

“Vunivalu’s a talented player, he’s a big body, he’s agile, so you’ve really got to watch him, but I’m excited to come up against him.”