He's still planning on kicking a few Steedens around Dapto Showground this year, but Joey Leilua says it was falling out of love with footy that prompted him to pull on the boxing gloves.
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The 32-year-old drew the curtain on his 225-game NRL career in 2021 after falling out of favour with then Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire, promptly making his boxing debut against fellow former Tiger Chris Heighington.
A two-year stint with Featherstone in the UK second division competition followed, but the former Raiders powerhouse said the passion for pugilism overtook the passion for the pigskin.
It's ironic given he first strapped on the gloves as a means of staying in the latter when the fire had admittedly burned out.
"When I fought Heighno I wasn't really training full-time boxing," Leilua said.
"I was just trying to get fit and trying to get back to playing football again, but I lost the desire to play NRL or rugby league.
"In England we lost in the semi-final for second year in a row [last year] and I went on holiday with the family and said 'I'm going to give it up'.
"When I was passionate about playing football, I had the desire to win. Once you lose that in the NRL, or in any sport, you don't really go back.
"I lost that in football. You can't do that in boxing. That's why I've put my full commitment into boxing, made it my full-time job and made sure I do everything right and don't take any shortcuts.
"I did that in my time in the NRL, but in the NRL there's 12 other guys to help you."
It might be his newest passion, but Leilua cut a seemingly disinterested figure at Tuesday's presser announcing his looming showdown with another former NRL centre in Curtis Scott in Wollongong on March 13.
The Samoan International admitted he hasn't taken to the showbiz aspect of the sweet science the way he has its other facets.
"I just don't really pay attention to all this because it doesn't mean anything when you're in the ring," he said.
"That's when it all matters. I'm not much of a talker, I like to get in there, do the business and throw hands. [Scott's] an opponent that's going to come forward and I love that.
"I'm not going to take a backward step and it's going to be something special. It's going to be fireworks. Someone's getting knocked out. It's me or him. I know that for sure."
However it ends, Leilua insists he's not done with rugby league entirely having signed on with the Dapto Canaries for the upcoming Illawarra League season, something he plans to fit around his fighting commitments.
"I'll definitely be back there," he said.
"After this fight with Curtis, I'll focus on playing for the Canaries and doing boxing as well. It's about mentoring the young kids more than anything else.
"I can show them what to do and what not to do, what NRL's all about to get to that next level. People don't understand how hard it is to transfer from this level to get to the NRL level. That's what I want to help with."
Exiled Scott not giving up on NRL return
Scott has also spent time in park footy with Thirlmere in the Macarthur competition after his Raiders contract was torn up over a string of off-field incidents in 2021.
Having subsequently been found guilty of assaulting his former partner, the NRL is not entertaining the 26-year-old's desire to for a rugby league return.
It's seen him shift his focus to boxing, but he expects NRL clubland to be watching.
"My main focus now is boxing, but on March 13 every NRL club's going to see how fit healthy I am," Scott said.
"They're going to know that I've been putting in the work, so I'm not going to close the door completely on the NRL, but at the moment my main focus is boxing.
"This is a path I'm going to take now and this is a path that I've been working hard towards since the door's been closed with football.
"It's a solo sport, I have to put in all the work, I've got no one else to blame. It's just me now and I really like the pressure and everything that comes with it."
Scott will give away size and experience to the 2-0-1 Leilua, but he's not fazed by his former NRL foe's resume ahead of their looming showdown.
"He weighed in his last fight at 120 kilos, but he's fighting tomato cans in my eyes," Scott said.
"You can't take much out of them. He's going to get the experience, he's going to get the feel walking out, but it's going to be a different fight when he turns up against me.
"I won't be just standing in front of him, I won't be taking a backward step, I can move. I've got boxing ability and I've been training hard and working really hard on myself as well.
"It's going to be a different quality of fighter when he comes in there with me."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
