Aidan Guerra's self-belief and desire didn't waver during an injured-plagued 2019 season when it was suggested to him it might be in his best interests to bail out of the final year of his contract and head to England.
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Instead, he dug in his heels and told the club he had unfinished business in Newcastle and was hungry to play on.
Coach Adam O'Brien is convinced the 31-year-old backrower, who is 10 games shy of joining the NRL's 200 club, still has plenty to offer the Knights.
"But the main thing is Aidan thinks he has too. That's the number one thing for me,"O'Brien said.
"Meeting with Aidan when I first took over, he was one of the guys whose future was being speculated on. The two things I got from talking to him was he is really settled with his wife and kids in Newcastle, he loves the region and loves the club but the most important thing is he loves the game and still feels like he has stuff to offer.
"I don't begrudge players like that. You are a long time retired or you can go to England or wherever you want to go a little bit too early at times."
Actions speak louder than words and O'Brien was even more sold after the club's trip to Tamworth for the final week of pre-season training prior to Christmas.
"It was a really tough week, really challenging for the boys and Aidan was one of our leading trainers there," he said. "He's got the hunger and when his efforts and performance out there are meeting that hunger, there are good signs for us. I've been really happy with him."
Guerra will be battling it out with the likes of Sione Mata'utia, Mitch Barnett, Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Tim Glasby for a spot in the backrow with trial form set to be a deciding factor on who makes the final 17 for the season-opener against the Warriors in early March.
# Meanwhile, Guerra has donated six fully autographed Queensland State of Origin jerseys from the Maroons' winning series in 2015 and 2016 to raise money for the bushfire appeal.
You can bid for the jerseys through the Instagram account - @jerseys4bushfires.
The auction went live on Monday night and will end on Wednesday [January 8] at 7pm. Funds raised will go to the Australian Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service and WIRES Wildlife Rescue.
"As everyone knows our country is hurting, so many people are being affected by these devastating bushfires," Guerra said on Instagram.
"Please bid with deep pockets and a big heart. These jerseys mean a lot to me but I'm happy to give them up in support."
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