Ryan Papenhuyzen has taken a major step towards his NRL return after playing for the Sunshine Coast Falcons on Saturday afternoon in the QLD Cup.
Papenhuyzen was involved in plenty during the 40 minutes he played of the contest, before being substituted out of the game at halftime.
The fullback, who is tipped to play at least two reserve grade games, although it could be more, prior to his NRL return, set up a try on the right-hand side for Sunshine Coast centre Kane Jackson, and also had some nice moments with and without the ball in hand.
While official stats are yet to be published by the QRL, all accounts are that Papenhuyzen was positioned well and defended strongly, while also doing plenty with the ball in hand, as highlights posted by the competition would suggest.
The fullback also kicked a pair of goals, including one from the sideline, while a nice short drop out won the ball back at one point for the Falcons.
Moving freely, it was Papenhuyzen's first game of any description since shattering his knee last July against the Canberra Raiders in a game for the Melbourne Storm.
The recovery for Papenhuyzen - which has seen him sidelined for more than 12 months and travel to the United States of America to seek specialist advice - had been frustrating at the best of times for the Melbourne Storm fullback.
At one stage, Papenhuyzen was talked about as a chance of being back in the NRL during the opening rounds of the season. That timeline was pushed back time and time again until his eventual return for the Falcons on the weekend.
With more than 12 months out of the game, the Storm will have an enormous decision to make once Papenhuyzen proves his fitness.
The finals-bound men in purple will likely find a way for the fullback to return to the 17, but whether that be at fullback, or as a utility off the bench, remains to be seen.
As it stands, Nick Meaney at fullback should shuffle to the wing, but wingers Will Warbrick and Xavier Coates have both been solid for Craig Bellamy's side.
It means the coach would have to drop one of the trio for Papenhuyzen's return, although that seems some weeks away given he only played 40 minutes for the Falcons on Saturday.
Papenhuyzen will almost certainly turn out next weekend for the Falcons at Bishop Park in Nundah as the Storm feeder club take on the Norths Devils, who are switching their NRL partner from the Brisbane Broncos to the Dolphins for next season.
If he gets through 80 minutes, then Bellamy could consider selecting the fullback in the NRL for a return game in Wollongong against the St George Illawarra Dragons the following week.
The Storm sit in fourth place on the NRL table after Friday's loss to the Penrith Panthers, and given some of their performances against top sides, could well use the X-Factor provided by their star fullback during the finals run.
Melbourne close out their season with games against the Canberra Raiders, Dragons, Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos, and may need to win at least three to retain a spot in the top four.