KEY POINTS:
Fortuitous or foresight? Take your pick about the rationale behind the Reds signing Clinton Schifcofske to the Super 14 after a decade-long league career.
The logic is irrelevant now. What matters to the Reds is the strong impact Schifcofske has made at fullback.
Reds coach Eddie Jones planned
to start Schifcofske on the wing, where he could work his way into his change of code. But when Wallaby and Reds fullback Chris Latham suffered a series-ending knee injury, Schifcofske was picked as his replacement.
So far so good.
The 31-year-old looks to be more comfortable at this early stage of his sporting switch than others like Lote Tuqiri or Mat Rogers.
The more Jones inquired about Schifcofske, the more he liked as he looked for players to regenerate a struggling franchise.
The feedback underlined his professionalism, his skills and his ability to fit into a team. He was no glory boy, he did not have an over-inflated opinion of his place in the sporting world.
Schifcofske would bring substance and grit to go with his proven goalkicking, defence and attacking values.
He wanted to return to his native Queensland after a six-year stint with the Canberra Raiders. His good friend and coach at the Raiders, Matthew Elliott, was moving on. The timing was right, Schifcofske fell to Jones' persuasion.
"Without a doubt, Matthew was one of the best coaches I have had and even more so one of the better mates in life," Schifcofske said. "He had a lot of influence on our careers and there have been about six or seven guys who have left the club too.
"He announced he was going to Penrith and I decided I wanted to come home, my wife is from Brisbane too, and while Canberra was a good spot and we had great friends, it had extremes of weather."
Schifcofske met Jones and was swayed by his proposals of a career in rugby.
"Eddie is a very good thinker and a good manager of people. He was something the Reds needed, he is good for the organisation and has given them a new direction."
Jones' instincts and Schifcofske's talents have given the Reds a reprieve at fullback since Latham's injury.
From his research, Jones knew Schifcofske had made mistakes.
He erred by taking illegal steroids at an early stage of his league career, was a mixed success when he transferred from the South Queensland Crushers to the Parramatta Eels but ended with the club captaincy and State of Origin honours during his stint with the Raiders.
Jones admired Schifcofske's tenacity, he had the determination the Reds needed. The results have been positive.
It is an impresssion which has not been lost on Wallaby coach John Connolly. While he and Jones do not converse, both are stirred by Schifcofske's start in rugby.
Schifcofske has brought a solidity to the Reds and goalkicking expertise which has helped make them very competitive in this latest Super 14 campaign.
With the Wallaby injury woes and Roger's return to league, Connolly is already taking a serious interest in Schifcofske's contributions.
Don't ask Schifcofske about anything beyond his Reds involvement.
"I am learning a new game and I am very busy with that at the moment," he said.
"I have a lot to learn, but Eddie has been great. I am always asking him lots of things but his advice is not to think too much about the game. He keeps telling me to do the things I did at rugby league, that was why he brought me across.
"He tells me not to over-complicate things and that sometimes you can think too much. He wants me to be decisive and that means taking the ball back or kicking it from fullback," Schifcofske said.
There were times when he felt uneasy, when he found himself slightly out of position. Otherwise he had not felt awkward about adapting to the rules of a new code.
"I have also been doing lots of stuff with Latham, he cuts up a lot of video footage from the previous games and we go through that. He explains things really clearly and I'm sure he will make a great coach in the future."
Schifcofske has worked out his own goalkicking methods though, including the habit of closing his left eye as he visualises his attempt.
"It helps me focus on the target, I pick a spot betwen the posts and it was something I started to do a couple of years ago. I have been kicking well for the last 18 months so I decided to stick with it."
He was sure the skills he learned playing soccer into his teens in his birth town of Moranbah, about two hours west of Mackay in North Queensland, had also assisted his goalkicking.
"It was a real league town though and all my mates were playing so I eventually changed."
When he moved to Canberra he spent a lot of time with Ruben Wiki but his plans to hook up with the Warriors captain this weekend looked unlikely as the Warriors had a pre-season match in Australia.
"Ruben is playing better than ever, he is a good man, salt of the earth really, a good fella, just what the Warriors wanted," Schifcofske said.
"He has a lot of discipline, creates a working culture off the field and he is quite impressive."
Sounds similar to the recommendations Jones was hearing when he went scouting for backline talent at the Reds.
