There were a few tentative thoughts of how his newly healed left foot would respond to the heat of an NRL match but once AJ Brimson crossed the white line there was no holding him back.
The Titans fullback only returned to full contract training a week ago after he suffered a Lisfranc injury - mid-foot bone and ligament damage - when he made his Maroons debut in the opening game of the Ampol State of Origin series in November.
But if you want to test your body out who better than the might of the New Zealand Warriors with the likes of Ben Murdoch-Masila, Addin Fonua-Blake, Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga coming right at you.
"It felt pretty good out there," Brimson told NRL.com after the 12-all draw in Saturday's trial at Lismore.
"It wasn't the perfect ground for it [heavy after recent rain] but it was probably a better test for it in that respect than a normal field. Mainly for me individually, I wanted to get through it for my mental state.
"As a team we just wanted to get through our plays. It wasn't really about winning or losing."
Brimson had worked hard on his rehab to get back the balanced running style he possesses, one of his great traits - latching on to the ball at speed and weaving through defenders.
Match Highlights: Titans v Warriors
Saturday’s match was barely two minutes old when he made his first line break, darting 20 metres.
Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook played his part by only using Brimson in the first half.
"I just wanted to give him 40 [minutes]. He's just had a slow pre-season before he could get going. But he showed last year that with limited game time, he's right to go once he's out there," Holbrook said.
"So I didn't need to keep him going too long. He's only young and he's had a couple of longer ones [injuries]."
Brimson was out with a fractured back last year, only returning in round 12 of the truncated 2020 season.
"I've definitely had enough. I just want to play more footy for the club," he said.
New recruit Patrick Herbert apparently can't get enough of his old club. After two years with the Warriors, the Maori All Stars centre didn't have to wait long to meet them.
And after locking horns in the Lismore trial he will be meeting the Warriors again in round one on March 13.
Big Tino lights up Lismore
"It's probably good to play your old mates first up than wait and wait for them. I played 80 minutes against them today so it was good to see where I was fitness-wise and match fitness-wise.
"We didn't show our full hand on attack tonight. It's like chess - the best strategy wins as at this level everyone is capable of winning. So we'll do some more video work on them for next time."
