It's difficult to imagine anybody who believes in the green and gold jersey more than Mal Meninga.
As he announced Australia's squad for the upcoming World Cup, the passion he has for the Kangaroos was plain to see.
He is one of the great Test players of all time, the only man to go on four Kangaroo Tours, a living embodiment of the ideals every player who pulls on an Australian jersey must live up to if they're to prove themselves worthy of inheriting the mantle.
That is why Meninga is the perfect Australian coach for this moment in time, when the Kangaroos find themselves at a true crossroads for the first time in their history.
It's not because the team hasn't played in almost three years. That was a symptom of what's happened, not a cause.
Think about why that lay-off happened in the first place. The COVID-19 pandemic shook up the world and many sports were reduced to their most basic elements in order to keep the show going.
So when it came to rugby league, the club competition was always going to continue. So was State of Origin, even if it had to be played at the end of the season. They were both non-negotiable. There is no rugby league without them.
International footy, and by extension the Kangaroos, was deemed expendable and thus were shelved. This was the culmination of years of degradation where the prestige of the green and gold jersey was gradually chipped away, even if Test football has been about more than just the best team in the world for some years now.
It's a far cry from the days when honour was measured in Test caps and tours to England, but there was no one root cause for the dinting of the legend.
The fan and media obsession with Origin, a lack of organised series and tournaments, resistance from clubs to allow their players to appear in end-of-season matches and thus miss part of the pre-season and fan apathy because of Australia's dominance all played a part.
But the old ways can return, harder and stronger but also updated for modern times, and Meninga is the man who can do it.
Meninga will take a fresh squad to England. It's exciting and star-studded, as nearly all Australian squads are, but it's also packed with new faces. Not only are there 13 debutants, but only three players in the touring party have played for the Kangaroos more than five times. Even James Tedesco, the new captain and one of the best players in the world for almost half a decade now, only has four caps.
This means there is a tremendous opportunity before them. A popular maxim with a lot of teams is that nobody owns a jersey, you only rent it. It's something you inherit from the person who wore it before you and pass down to your successor.
It's an idea Meninga understands well, because when he talks about the national side he uses words like honour, pride and respect and he means them and when Mal Meninga means something you sit up and take notice, because he has the kind of presence that makes you believe it.
That passion, pride and the ability to convey it, more than anything else, is why he's been such a successful coach for state and country.
Power resides where men believe it resides, Mal Meninga believes in the power of the Australian jersey and he has a rare gift for passing that on to his players. They, in turn, can pass it on to everybody else.
This particular Kangaroos team does not have much to inherit from the immediate past, so they must reach further back into the ages and bring that old spirit to a new generation.
The early signs from the squad are strong. Tedesco has achieved so much in his career, but he described captaining his country as perhaps his highest honour.
In terms of public interest the embers are there, ready to be turned into flames, because for the first time in a long time, it feels like people care about the Kangaroos the way they used to.
Speculation over the World Cup squad bubbled along all through the finals and debate will continue over the best make-up of the team all through the tournament.
Just take a look at the reaction to Dylan Edwards and Nicho Hynes missing out, or get into the Nathan Cleary vs Daly Cherry-Evans debate for the halfback spot. Fans want their guys in there, which makes it feel all the more important when someone either makes the cut or doesn't.
The rise of Samoa and Tonga and an incredibly formidable New Zealand squad, who are locked and loaded with the best forward pack in the world, means Australia, while still favoured, may not be the walk-up winners the cynics anticipate.
If Australia do win, it bodes well that they must walk a harder path. Every player who defected to the Pasifika nations makes them stronger and Australia a little bit weaker, which narrows the gap between them and makes the Kangaroos' path to a World Cup final victory a little bit harder.
This is a good thing, for the team and the sport as a whole. The truest glory comes when there is a real risk of defeat. Superman isn't brave because he knows nothing can hurt him, but if he's taking on someone armed with kryptonite then the victory is all the sweeter – if he can pull it off.
All the pieces are in place for Australia's jersey to shine once again and in the middle of it all will be Meninga, a guardian of the old ways turned shepherd of the new who can build a dream of the future on the legacies of the past.
He has done so much for his country as a sportsman, but if he can pull off one more rise it may be his greatest green and gold feat of all.
