If it is a swansong, Golden Shears star David Fagan is making a good go of it as he comes to the Golden Shears at the age of 52 and favourite to win a 10th PGG Wrightson National Championship.
Te Kuiti's most famous son - well, there is Colin Meads, as well - Fagan has been in charge from the start of the 2013-2014 series and is the big threat to Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick's hopes of retaining the title, which carries the prestige of being New Zealand's top all-breeds shearer.
Remarkably, Fagan claimed the maximum 12 points as top qualifier in the heats of the compulsory finewool opening round at the Merino Championships in Alexandra in October.
Having only once made the final of that specialist event, and missing out again this year, the performance at the first dig showed a determination to again get his name on the Triple Crown, first presented at the Golden Shears in 1973 and with his name already engraved for 1986, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
They are among 625 Open-class wins recorded by Fagan around the world since he bowed out of Senior class after finishing third in the 1981 Golden Shears Senior final.