When Andy Muirhead drove down to Canberra from Brisbane as a 22-year-old, he has hopes of a two-year Super Rugby career.
Now, the winger will lead the Brumbies for his 100th game in his home state on Saturday against the Queensland Reds.
Catch every game of SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Muirhead has been a staple of the ACT side since his debut in 2017.
The 31-year-old had to scrap his way into the side after heading down to the Canberra Royals with no promise of a Super Rugby deal.
A minute against the Kings in May got him a taste of Super Rugby before Muirhead showed what he was made of with a quick-fire double against the Jaguares the following game.
Since then, the winger has been one of the first picked for the best part of a decade for the Brumbies.
“I had it in my head I might have had a two-year Super Rugby career, just the way things work out generally. When I got my couple of games and got re-signed for next year, I thought I had a couple more years left but I’m a stubborn fellow and I’ve forced my way to stick around," he told reporters.
“To get to 50 a couple of years ago was huge and I didn’t think I’d get to 100, so it’s very special.”
Muirhead is the perfect example of what the Brumbies have symbolised - a hard-working, great team man that embodies the ‘never say die’ attitude and squeezes everything out of any opportunity.
“I'm a stubborn fella and I'd say I've gone through a fair few things off field and just being resilient and backing myself,” he reasserted.
“Early on, when anyone comes into a Super squad, you're in and out of starting teams and out of the bench playing every week, and I wasn’t afraid to have those tough conversations with our coaches early on and just demanded what I needed to do to get better.
“You gain confidence out of that and grow as a human and as a rugby player. I think early on, I probably did that quite well just to show I was here to work and try and be the best person I could be on the field.”
Muirhead headlines a host of Queensland-born and bred Brumbies returning to what they once called home, looking for an upset.
James Slipper spent significant time with the Reds, but guys like Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau, and Muirhead are Brumbies through and through.
"The Brumbies are a bunch of misfits from the start," Muirhead said.
“We've had a fair few Brisbane boys, guys from Sydney and Melbourne, and there's always a bit more fire in the belly when we go up to Queensland.
"The funny thing is our Wallabies have all come from Queensland, and they've come down here and thrived in our system.
"It's a really good opportunity to get up there, and for the boys to be able to play in front of their families. It's a big game and hopefully we're on the better end of the winning stick."
