Just seven days after the death of his brother Aaron after an illness, Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs played against Greater Western Sydney. Come Saturday, he'll play again, in the grand final against Richmond, and his steely resolve will be further tested.
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Yet the man most call "Sauce" is as mentally strong as ever for the game of his lifetime.
People grieve differently, and Jacobs, 29, said the best thing for him has been to be out on the footy field either training or playing alongside his mates.
"It has been a crazy month ... the tragic event that I went through, but at the same time I have had real purpose trying to get success when I lost my brother Aaron," Jacobs said.
"It was never about me [playing]. It was about us continuing the journey back in 2011 when I got to the club.
"As a team we have gone though some really tough times, and what you see out there is a really passionate team that plays for each other. The love and care I got from the team, family and even footy fans; I am grateful for everyone getting behind me.
"When I found out [about Aaron's death] I knew I had eight days to get ready for the Giants game and I indicated to the club to find out what is going to be best to prepare me to play against the Giants. I feel the communication has been really strong through the club."
Of course, Jacobs has played in adversity before, following the passing of Adelaide's coach Phil Walsh on July 3, 2015.
"Unfortunately, I have been through it before, and I thought I had some pretty good tools to deal with that," Jacobs said. "Playing footy with my mates is definitely part of that."
Supporting him again has been Adelaide's player welfare manager Emma Bahr, his teammates and this time coach Don Pyke.
Jacobs believes it is time to keep moving forward. "We are really confident with our ability," he said of the grand final against Richmond. "If we play the way we want we should get a result.
"At the same time we have watched Richmond play the last month to six weeks and they have a lot of momentum going. They are going to be hard to stop.
"Over the weekend it has been surreal, just preparing to get to play again. I took my dog for a walk yesterday and it took me 15-20 minutes to take in what we had actually done, but at the same time knowing it's all for nothing if we don't get the win this week.
"We are excited by the prospect of putting ourselves out there."
Richmond's Toby Nankervis, who will have the big job of trying to match Jacobs in the ruck, is full of admiration for the Adelaide big man.
"Each week I'll watch the vision flat out and each week I have a big role against a gun player because every team has a pretty good ruckman," Nankervis said. "Not much changes this week.
"Sauce has had an awesome year ... unlucky not to be All-Australian, he's had a stellar year.
"His ruck work is elite, he moves around the ground pretty well and he's a good contested mark ... he's not one dimension. He's got a few strings to his bow. He's an awesome player."
