Nate Myles somehow had one of the great State of Origin careers.
Nothing could stop him ... except this.
"He would have played 30 [games] straight if he didn't poo in the hallway," Queensland icon Johnathan Thurston said on Wide World of Sports' The Dynasty.
It was a blast from the past that made fellow Maroons legend Billy Slater burst out laughing and bury his face in his hands; "You had to bring it up, didn't you?"
In an episode that could only happen in rugby league, Myles - then a Roosters player - attended a Central Coast juniors function on a Saturday night in July 2009.
He was found in a fire escape in Terrigal's Crowne Plaza hotel at 8am the next morning, drunk and disoriented after being locked out his room. He tried to gain entry to the room of a family as they left in the morning and was found to have defecated in a hallway.
Myles copped a six-week ban for the filthy act, despite apologising to the family and to then-NRL chief executive David Gallop. It meant that he missed Origin III that season.
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To that point, Myles was on a historic run. He debuted at just 20 in Origin I of 2006 and played 11 consecutive games, giving him a record four straight series wins.
On one hand, missing Origin III of 2013 was inconsequential; Queensland were already up 2-0 and victorious in the series. But it robbed Myles of a piece of history.
If not for 'Poo-gate', Myles would have joined Thurston as the only Queenslander to play all 24 games during the streak of eight consecutive series wins from 2006-2013. He would have played 31 Origins in a row if not for the 2009 hotel incident, easily the most by a forward and second only to Thurston's 36.
He played 19 consecutive games after 'Poo-gate', ending with an injury that ruled him out of Origin II in 2016. In all, he played at least one game in each of the 11 series won by Queensland over their 12-year dynasty.
Myles notched 32 Origin appearances before being dropped after Origin I in 2017. That's just one less than iconic prop Petero Civoniceva; the most capped Maroons forward outside of hooker Cameron Smith (42).
Myles was remarkable in Origin because he no matter how he was playing at NRL level, he was rock solid - if not outstanding - for Queensland. He was a completely bankable player who always got the job done.
In 2012, Myles won the Wally Lewis Medal as Origin's player of the series, book-ended by a pair of medal wins for future Immortal Cameron Smith. He was Queensland's player of the series in 2012 and 2014, despite playing alongside so many phenomenal teammates.
Thurston never won that award, the Ron McAuliffe Medal, while the likes of Slater and Greg Inglis got the honour just once. Myles won enormous respect among his fellow Maroons.
"Nate Myles, he played 30 games, so I wouldn't say he's an unsung hero. But I just think the type of player he is, I think that is just a great example of what Origin's about," Darren Lockyer, Myles' first Queensland captain, said on The Dynasty.
"You don't have to be the fastest, the strongest or the quickest. If you go out there and you've got a big heart and you've got desire and you want to play for your teammates ... he's played 30 Origins, which is phenomenal."
Myles had earned so many brownie points with Queensland selectors that he played Origin I in 2017 despite dismal form with Melbourne, who dropped him to reserve grade a month after the series opener. He played just three NRL games that year, retiring at the end of the season.
His NRL career wasn't quite so charmed as his Origin tenure, though he played 233 games. He just missed the Bulldogs 2004 grand final win, debuting in the World Club Challenge the following season. He lost a grand final with the Roosters in 2010 before playing with the Titans, Sea Eagles and Storm to end his career.
Myles also earned nine Test appearances for Australia. But it was at Origin level where he carved out an unlikely chapter in rugby league folklore. He retired an undisputed Queensland great.
"A no-frills player, but he was so important to our team," Slater said on The Dynasty.
"Queensland have always sort of seen those players as really important. Players that come to mind are guys like Jacob Lillyman, Dane Nielsen, Aidan Guerra. These sort of no-frills players that come in and just give everything for Queensland."
And of course, Myles also had this iconic moment: his Origin I, 2013 punch-up with NSW captain Paul Gallen.
Even as the man who ate most of the punches, Myles won further respect. He was a tough competitor who always thrived in the most gruelling arena.
"If you listen to or read any interview since the punch, Nate has never once complained about the incident," Gallen wrote in his autobiography last year, saying that Myles sparked the fight by twisting his injured knee during the game.
"We both know what happened, and I've got so much respect for Nate for the way he has never said anything otherwise."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nate-myles-hotel-defecation-queensland-origin-johnathan-thurston/8c892fa7-c8ca-4e5d-a1ca-cb56c9e758a5
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