For six years Matt Elliott had various opportunities to return to coaching.
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Each time he hesitated, a nagging feeling telling him the time wasn't right.
That was until he sat down with Anthony Griffin last month, the new St George Illawarra head coach laying out his vision for the struggling club.
Elliott knew straight away. The time was right to return to the fold, signing on as an assistant.
"I've had some opportunities but I was a little cautious about them," Elliott said. "I'd say I was committed to my business, but the real answer was I was cautious around certain organisations. I'd rather set myself up for success than failure.
"This one, it was really around one conversation Anthony and I had. We met the next day and shook hands at the end of that meeting. I believe there's an opportunity to make a huge difference to the organisation with him there.
"Anthony spoke about removing the focus from individual players and making the Dragons an organisation that we are all involved in finding a way to win. I looked at the club through what he was saying and it was exactly what they needed.
"If we can get the whole organisation focused on winning, it will make the players jobs easier and share the responsibility across the club."
Elliott has been busy throughout the past six years, working with ABC Radio and running a business.
That company, The Change Room, was born in 2016 to use lessons learnt from inside the professional environment to help regular people overcome physical and mental illness.
With the likes of Anthony Minichiello and Paul Harragon presenting to participants, the organisation has recently expanded throughout the country.
Elliott started the company with a vision to help others but even he has been shocked by how much he's learned throughout the past four years.
They're lessons the 55-year-old is confident he will be able to utilise during his time with the Dragons.
"I've learnt more than I could ever imagined. People facing adversity are often not in the best place, but when you can actually see and support someone in their recovery, the learning for you is significant because you remain in contact and are getting constant feedback.
"My understanding of how to support people through tough times and keep people on the right path in that process is so much better now."
While Elliott was immediately sold on Griffin's vision for St George Illawarra, he doesn't expect an instant turnaround at the club.
Players can take time to adapt to new methodologies and the former Dragons first-grade player is expecting some teething issues during the new regime's early stages.
"Immediate turnarounds aren't sustainable. In whatever you're doing in life, change is awkward and often hard to sustain, you creep back into old habits.
"We've got some work to do. There's no big rainbow in the backside with this, it's a collective commitment to changing everyone's behaviour in the organisation. That's easier said than done. Saying you're going to run a marathon is easy, but to do it is another story.
"Anthony's got the formula, now our job is to support him in making sure the changes get past that awkwardness and we make it sustainable."