BEFORE George Rose went on to forge a name for himself as a cult figure in the NRL, his grandfather stressed to him the importance of his Aboriginal heritage.
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It was a message Rose did not forget as he progressed from playing his junior football with the Bathurst Penguins to making 154 NRL appearances with stints at the Sydney Roosters, Manly, Melbourne and St George Illawarra.
It was a message which has led to him being named in the NRL.com Indigenous All Stars Team of the Decade.
While Rose enjoyed plenty of highlights during his NRL club games - including a grand final victory with Manly in 2011 - arguably his finest performances came while wearing an Indigenous All Stars jumper.
They were performances which saw the barnstorming prop named in the 17-man Indigenous All Stars Team of the Decade. It was selected by the likes of Wayne Bennett and Preston Campbell.
Rose featured in the front row or on the bench in the sides chosen by eight of the nine selectors.
"In my mind, a guy like George Rose is a bloody legend," Bennett said.
"He said 'I'd pay to get a chance to play in this team every year'," Campbell added. "Just on his passion and obviously the way he played the game, George had to be there."
In 2008, Rose featured for the Indigenous Dreamtime team against the New Zealand Maori in a curtain-raiser to the opening game of the World Cup.
Rose then went on to feature for the Indigenous All Stars in their inaugural match against the NRL All Stars to kick off the 2010 NRL season.
He went on to play in five of those pre-season All Stars fixtures, his last appearance in 2015 seeing him win the man of the match Preston Campbell Medal as he helped his side to a 20-6 victory.
The passion Rose played with in those All Stars fixtures was clear to see, from the Aboriginal flag haircut, to the smile on his face on the occasions he got to hoist the winners' trophy.
It was clear he remembered his grandfather's message.
''My dad died when I was young - I was only nine - and pop was still there to pass on the messages and guide me. One thing he always said to me was, 'Be proud of where you're from, and who you are. You're an Aboriginal man ... make sure you let 'em know'," he said.
Rose was named in the number 10 jersey in the team of the decade, with Andrew Fifita the other starting prop. The side also included the likes of Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston.
