Dylan Edwards' first NRL meeting with Melbourne in March last year could've broken a lesser man.
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Instead, it acted as the catalyst for the Penrith fullback's run to Sunday night's grand final as one of the most improved players of 2020.
In an absolute horror show in Bathurst, Edwards put down six balls as the Panthers were thumped 32-2 by the Storm on a wet and greasy night.
One was a fumble from a grubber that led to a try, while another came when he put down a Cameron Munster kick and Brodie Croft capitalised to score.
Munster also got Edwards with a one-on-one steal, while there was a simple error in a tackle and another as he tried to chase down a James Maloney kick to score.
"It's up there among the most difficult games I've had," Edwards told AAP.
"I haven't had a night like it before, that's for sure. It was difficult."
Typical of his on-field resilience, Edwards has never tried to run away from that match.
He fronted up to reporters within days and again took questions on it this week before the most important match of his life at ANZ Stadium.
"It was hard," he said.
"But you just had to get up there and own it and take responsibility for it."
However, by his own admission, his confidence was rattled.
"I didn't rebound well at all," he said.
Within a fortnight, Edwards was dropped to reserve grade.
Which is where the run to this year's form began.
"When I got dropped back to Cup, I realised it was time to build that foundation and really start again," Edwards said.
"It sounds cliche, I just had to get back to basics."
It paid off with Edwards soon back in the Panthers' NRL team.
He then returned to his best in first grade, as Penrith found form in the middle of the season and he regularly busted tackles and topped 200 running metres.
Heading into Sunday's grand final Edwards has scored five tries this season, provided seven try-assists, 74 tackle-busts and 11 line-break assists.
All are his best numbers in a season despite playing only 13 games in 2020.
In a different role in attack this year, he has thrived under assistant Trent Barrett and Ivan Cleary's structure with Penrith winning every game he's played acting as an extra playmaker.
Crucially, he's been rock solid at the back, as one of just three regular fullbacks across the NRL to average less than one error per game.
Australian Associated Press
