He's spent seven seasons at Parrish Park, but Wests skipper Mitch Porter can still experience the odd first - a 30-point drubbing at the hands of Collegians last week was certainly one of them.
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The Devils led 12-0 after six minutes at WIN Stadium only to concede eight straight tries and go down 42-12 to the red-hot Dogs.
It was the biggest reality check of Porter's time in Devils garb and prompted the captain to call his side into a huddle before walking off the WIN Stadium pitch to deliver a sobering message.
"It was just 'remember the feeling'," Porter said of the message.
"It was a bit of a reality check saying not to get ahead of ourselves and we made a pact that we'd keep working hard and get back to WIN Stadium in September [for the grand final] and get a bit of redemption. I've been at Wests seven years and I haven't had a game like that, probably ever.
"It's probably been coming for a couple of weeks. We've got a pretty high standard as a club and we weren't quite hitting the mark with that.
"We'd been putting points on but we've been letting ourselves down with coming out of our own end penalties and our discipline.
"We'd talked about it, but then it sort of crept up on us and we couldn't seem to fight back. Credit to Fieny (Nathan Fien) and the boys there, they just came back from 12-0, completed their sets and did everything that we wanted to do to them."
While the momentum swing was in full effect, there's no doubt the loss if halfback Justin Rodrigues to a head knock midway through the first half was a telling moment, and leaves coach Pete McLeod facing a conundrum ahead of Saturday's clash with Thirroul given he'll be without his on-field general.
It could extend to multiple games, but there's no shortage of options. Porter was named at five-eighth earlier this week, while utility gun Joseph Dickson starred in the No. 6 against Cronulla Caringbah a fortnight ago.
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Veteran fullback Brad Scott's equally adept in the halves as he is as a custodian. Whichever way McLeod goes, young play-maker Callum Waldock will need to step into the hot-seat
"J-Rod's been the basis of our club the last five-six years now so losing him early was a big loss," Porter said.
"We still had our systems, Brad Scott shifted into the halves and he's played there throughout his career. We all knew the same job but Collies just put us under pressure and we didn't react well enough.
"Pete's got a few different combinations in mind [for this week] so we'll see what fits best.
"It'll be good for Cal. He's been a bit of a prodigy here at Wests where we always knew he was going to play first grade. He's had to bide his time and play a bit of reggies but he's a full first-grader now and it's his time to shine.
"He's one of those play fast, think slow players, he's got a great kicking game. I think he'll be going to the seven this week and it's a game for him to take control."
Being undermanned against perennial contenders Thirroul is rarely ideal, but Porter said the chance to bounce straight into another top-two battle is one his side is relishing.
"As soon as the game was finished we wanted another crack because we were pretty embarrassed with that effort. It's not acceptable in the red and blue," Porter said.
"Thirroul have been going really well this year. Sirro's (Damian Sironen) leading them well and they've picked up Brem (Wayne Bremner) who's a quality player.
"They've got [Steve] Marsters out in the centres and they've got their usual Thirroul boys up the middle.
"We've got a few out but no matter who we have on the field it's just going to be a good test to see if we're mentally tough enough to come back from that game at WIN Stadium."
With a clash with impressive newbies De La Salle to follow next weekend, it's an important fortnight for the Devils push at an all-important top-two finish to the regular season.
"With these quality teams in the comp now, we've really got to focus on this week because we don't want to go back to back [losses] and end up chasing our tails," Porter said.
"In saying that, we're just concerned with us and making sure we're improving and playing our best footy at the end of the year.
"With the team that we've got, I think we've got the potential there. We've just got to realise it and execute in those big moments."
The Thirroul-Wests clash at 1.15 will be the first leg of a double-header of deferred round-one clashes at Dapto Showground, with the Canaries fresh off their first win of the season last week hosting Helensburgh at 3pm.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
