He has flown to England for a fresh start, but departed Canberra Raiders veteran Dane Tilse believes he's timed his exit perfectly with young props Paul Vaughan and Shannon Boyd ready to take off.
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The Raiders rallied from 22-0 down to shock West Tigers in the club's greatest comeback win on Sunday, giving the prop a fitting farewell in his final NRL game.
Tilse had little time to soak in his ideal swansong, boarding a plane to begin his two-and-a-half year contract with Hull Kingston Rovers on Monday night.
Boyd and Vaughan were hugely influential in the 30-22 victory at Leichhardt Oval, with the latter's individual first-half try kick-starting the fightback.
Vaughan seems near certain to secure a Country spot for the second year running after a superb first seven weeks, while Boyd's helped turned the game off the bench in his return from a shoulder injury.
"Boydy was outstanding, Vaughan is always good and Frank-Paul really stepped up for us," Tilse said.
"Sia Soliola is one of the best leaders I've ever played with and the forward pack is looking really good, we've got Papa [Papalii] there as well.
"I'm leaving the club in good hands."
Tilse said it struck home his NRL career was over during Sunday's game, and is still pinching himself he was able to write his name in club history in his 201st and final match.
"Out on the field I got a bit emotional and I think it was the ground itself too, it's such an iconic, traditional Sydney ground," Tilse said.
"The belief has always been there this year. We know we have a good side and are building slowly, even though the losses were coming there was still a good vibe in the camp.
"The boys dug deep in the second half, sometimes doing all that defence in the first 20 minutes can take its toll. We really hung in there tough, it was a special win."
Raiders skipper said on Big Sports Breakfast they refused to let Tilse down again after they lost to Melbourne last week in his last home game and 200th match.
"Tilsey deserves that," he said.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get the win against Melbourne, he's done such a great amount for the club and he deserves to go out like this.
"He's a club legend and it's great to send him off that way."
Country coach Trent Barrett will announce his team to play City in Wagga on May 3 after Canberra plays Souths in Cairns on Sunday.
Vaughan, fullback Jack Wighton and Croker are the Raiders' best selection hopes, while Shaun Fensom will be desperate to return from an ankle injury to press his claims for a maiden Country berth.
Five-eighth Blake Austin has also been touted as a chance for City selection.
I've just got to focus on getting a couple of wins for Canberra, but if it happens I'll obviously take it," Vaughan said.
"Sticky [coach Ricky Stuart] said at half-time if we win the game it will shape our season.
"He's hard to handle Boydy, especially close to the line and it's good to get the win for Tilsey and send him off the way he deserves."
Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin agreed the win against his old side can kick-start their campaign.
"We can really build our season off the back of that," he said.
"I reckon our last three or four weeks we've been building toward something and this is a reward for that.
"The Leichhardt experience probably got the better of us [early] and we leaked way too many points.
"The two tries before half-time gave us plenty of hope they [the Tigers] weren't going to be in it for the long haul."
SUNDAY
NRL round eight: South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canberra Raiders at Barlow Park, Cairns, 4pm.
TV: Live on Channel Nine
