WHEN news first broke 282-game NRL veteran Luke Patten was going to lace the boots up in Group Seven, the whole of the South Coast competition was a buzz.
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The Balgownie Tigers junior had decided to return to the field, after six years off it refereeing, with the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles - which in a way, saw his career come full circle.
"Not many people know but I actually started playing footy at the age of five with Balgownie, before eventually moving to Corrimal - as the Tigers folded," Patten said.
"The Cougars were the next closest team and was actually the team my dad came down and played for from the country - so my two brothers and I played there for the rest of our junior career.
"The fact all my family played rugby league, made the only thing I wanted to do with my life."
It was during this time Patten, 39, met former Steelers and Dragons team mate Ben Hornby.
"We had a fair bit of success with those junior Corrimal sides, which helped me make some of those junior Illawarra Steelers representative sides - I sort of knew if I made these teams, as well as junior NSW and Australian sides, you were a fair chance of playing NRL," Patten, who started his career as a centre, said.
"As I didn't do well at school, I put all my eggs into the rugby league basket and chased that dream."
His progression continued into the Steelers reserve grade side, while he was still studying at Keira High School.
"Times are different now but those early Steelers year were some of my best memories - I didn't know about all the stresses of the sport and got to hang out with my mates all day at school," he said.
"I went from sitting on the hill watching the Steelers one year, to sitting in the dressing shed before a game the next - it was a surreal feeling.
"It all happened so quick - I got lucky, as it all sort of fell into place for me."
It was during this time Patten's famous nickname "General" came about.
"One night, Mick Cross - the younger brother of John Cross - got the team together and announced we were going to call this skinny, young bloke the General, after General Patton," he said.
"Everyone had a laugh about it and it stuck with me for the rest of my life.
"It's crazy how people still now just call me the General and it sounds odd if people call me Luke."
A couple of months after finishing high school at the end of 1997, Patten broke through for his first grade debut.
It came in round three of the 1998 NRL season at WIN Stadium when the scarlett and white took on reigning premiers Newcastle.
"It was intimidating coming into first grade but players such as Paul McGregor, Trent Barrett and Craig Fitzgibbons really helped my transition, as they really had time for the younger guys," he said.
"One thing that sticks in my mind from that game is a pre-game chat I had with Trent [Barrett] and he said you'll be fine, just don't stuff up.
"So all game I just concentrated on not stuffing up, which was hard with the speed and physicality of the game, while trying to catch bombs from Andrew Johns all day in the wind.
"Fullback can me a lonely position and through the first season there were some hard games, forcing me to learn quick.
"Now when I get a chance to go back and watch some of those games, I get frustrated at how green I was positionally - which is how all young kids start out, but it was good times non the less."
After playing 13 games in his first season, his Steelers merged with the St George Illawarra Dragons ahead of the 1999 season.
"I was lucky enough to show what I could do during those 13 games, including scoring a couple of tries in the final game against the Bulldogs, that the club decided to keep me around during the merger," he said.
"It was a strange process but being young, it didn't really appreciate what was going on at the time - as it was hard to get both coaches and playing groups on the same page.
"Although we had plenty of stars, it took us a while to click, but when we finally did, we played some really exciting footy - leading to us making the grand final."
The Dragons went on to lose to the Melbourne Storm 20-18 in one of the most dramatic finishes to a decider in history.
"Obviously the loss hurts but luckily I won a premiership a couple of years later in 2004 with the Bulldogs," Patten, who got injured early in the match before returning, said.
"The disappointing thing that bugs me most is guys like Rod Wishart and Paul McGregor, who deserve one, never got a chance to win one - it's not a match I rewatch, that's for sure."
Patten went on to pull on the Red V 44 times before joining the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at the end of 2000.
"It wasn't by choice, as I was pretty keen to stay in Wollongong, as I was still living at home at that stage and all my mates were there," he said.
"There was originally an offer to stay but it got withdrawn, so I had to make a decision between Melbourne and Canterbury.
"At that stage, I didn't really want to move to Melbourne, so I met with Steve Folkes and his professionalism and the club's work ethic appealed to me - as I really wanted to knuckle down and re-establish myself.
"It end up being the best decision of my life."
Patten's career skyrocketed when he arrived at the kennel, going on to play 225 time for the blue and whites.
"When I was still living in Wollongong and driving up to Bankstown for training, I had no idea about Sydney traffic," he said.
"So on the day of my first session with the club I was running late, so I rang mum and asked what should I do - which she replied just ring the coach, he'll understand.
"So I ran Steve [Folkes] and all he said we you should have left earlier and hung up - if I wasn't nervous enough already about joining a new club, that made me super nervous.
"The following day, I made sure to leave earlier and when I got there, I found a note in my locker saying that's your first and last warning, if you're late again, it'll be a $1000 fine - safe to say I was never late for training again."
The pinnacle of his time there was the 2004 NRL premiership, which Patten labelled his career highlight.
"While you can't go past the premiership, that trophy signified much more than that to me - it made me more mentally tough and helped me develop friendships I still have to this day," he said.
"Working hard, dedication and respect are all things fostered at the Bulldogs club and are aspects of my life I want to pass onto my two boys."
But Patten's time at the Dogs wasn't without its dramas, going through the 2002 salary cap breach and the 'gang rape' allegation prior to the 2004 season.
"We won a lot of games in 2002, including 17 games straight, where we were in the headspace where we never thought we were out of games - everyone was high on confidence," he said.
"But history shows we were over the cap and we were punished accordingly.
"It was obviously really disappointing at the time but we managed to keep that core together, after all taking pay cuts.
"Then you consider all the stuff with a Coffs Harbour allegation - probably the most challenging time of a lot of those boys' career - but it made winning the competition in 2004 all the more rewarding."
From a personal perspective, 2009 was Patten's best on the field, receiving his third NSW Country jersey, while also being brought into the NSW Blues camp for game three of the State of Origin series as 19th man.
"Pulling on the Country jersey was awesome, as you playing alongside some of the best blokes I've met on the footy field," he said.
"All three of those occasions are found memories for me but looking back on it, I didn't give myself enough chance to push on and make the Blues squad - sometimes I was happy just to be there and play my role.
"It's my biggest regret in football not to give myself a real shot in the representative arena, to see if I could have handled playing at the highest possible level - I have no doubt I could have but at the time, I was unsure."
Patten was actually closer than many thought to getting that Blues jersey that night in Brisbane.
"I went into camp and trained with the squad all week before heading to New Zealand to play with the Bulldogs, before returning to the squad - I trained like I was going to play," he said.
"It came down to fullback Kurt Gidley receiving a needle a couple of minutes before kick-off - if it worked, I got changed out of my playing gear and had a shower but if it didn't, I was playing.
"Unfortunately for me, the needle worked and he was able to take the field and I missed out on my opportunity."
After a decade at the kennel, Patten took his talents abroad and joined the Salford City Reds in the United Kingdom, as the English Super League was always something he wanted to play in.
"The hardest thing was I still have one year to run on my contract with the Dogs and I felt like I was making small mistakes in my game, which I didn't normally do - I'm a hard marker on myself," he said.
"As the injuries started to build up, I wasn't able to train as much or as hard as I would have liked - an aspect of my game I took pride in.
"My performances reflected this and with Ben Barba coming through the ranks, who everyone knew was a fantastic talent, I didn't want to be one of those guys to hurt the club.
"So after speaking with former teammate Daniel Holdsworth, who joined the Dragons the year before, I signed a three-year deal with the club - it's an experience I'm really glad I had."
After playing 56 games across two seasons, Patten's injuries got too much and he returned to Australia before his third campaign.
"Playing in the UK, where rugby league isn't their main sport, it was sort of like going back to the '90s with the way the sport went under the radar a little - I loved that about it," he said.
"It also gave me the chances to see the world, which I'm grateful for.
"Eventually, it got to a point where my wife was putting my socks and shoes on the days after games, because my body was struggling so much.
"Making the call to retire wasn't too hard as my body made it for me - I knew it was time to move into the next stage of my life, following my wedding to my wife."
Upon returning to Australia, Patten transitioned into refereeing.
"My interest in refereeing started in 2008 when I had a back operation and it was touch and go if I was even going to still be able to play footy," he said.
"As I wanted to stay involved, I made inquiries about becoming an on-field referee, which is something I would have looked into if I couldn't have played anymore
"So after my retirement, the referees boss Daniel Anderson was on the lookout for former players to get involved in the video referee process - the timing worked out well.
"Before I knew it, I was in the program and I actually went on to be the video referee for the grand final that year [which the Roosters defeated the Sea Eagles 26-18]."
Following time with the NRL Bunker, Patten decided to lace the boots, for the first time in six years, signing on with Albion Park-Oak Flats.
"It all started at a Steelers' reunion and I'd just quit my job at the NRL Bunker, so I told a couple of the boys I was on the lookout for some work," he said.
"A couple of those guys were associated with the mines, including Chris Leikvoll who said he could get me a job if I came and played for Dapto - with the Park presenting a similar offer.
"The Eagles offer happened quicker and before I knew it, I was doing pre-season at Centenary Field.
"I really enjoyed the pre-season as a lot of the younger boys didn't know who I was, as well as getting back into the training side of things."
Patten, who's played 14 games for Gary Breakspear's men this season, has really enjoyed the year at the nest.
"There were probably more mental challenges than physically ones, as my brain kept asking why I was putting myself through this," he said.
"It's like riding a bike, one you get into it and going, you know what you have to do.
"Obviously it's been tough to play on a Sunday afternoon and then front up at the mines on Monday morning but you just deal with that."
Heading into his final match in Eagles colours this Sunday at Cec Glenholmes Oval against Warilla-Lake South, Patten has rated his performances in 2019 at a 6.5/10.
"I've done some really good stuff but I'm disappointed I missed some of those key games in our season because I had pneumonia," he said.
"We showed a couple of weeks ago against Jamberoo we've got the team, if we can put it together for the 80 minutes, to challenge anyone."
At this stage, Patten sees the round 18 match against the Gorillas as his last, saying this season will be a "good way to go out" but also said to "never say never" in terms of playing again.
"It would take a lot for my to play again - with my young family living in Sydney, it's a big commitment with travel," he said.
Looking forward, Patten said the Park has a bright future, with plenty of big talents coming through the ranks.
"The Park is a club that want to change their culture and I hope I've been able to contribute to that - my whole season in Group Seven has provided me with nothing but good memories," he said.
"But for me now, I'm looking forward to family time and getting my weekends back."