They say absence makes the heart grow fonder but in injured Dolphins strike centre Herbie Farnworth's case it also makes his mindset stronger.
The 25-year-old is out of action for four to six weeks with a torn hamstring sustained in last week's 20-18 win over the Warriors.
The Dolphins, who host the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night, are hanging onto eighth position and want to keeping winning to secure a maiden finals berth and give Farnworth more incentive to heal and play a part.
Not that he needs incentive.
Farnworth famously spent two days in hospital with a leg infection before making a late flight to Sydney to star in the 44-8 win over Canterbury in May. Medical staff were left in awe of his healing powers and mental fortitude.
He is an outside possibility to return by round 26 against Gold Coast but the main item on the side's agenda is to keep winning so he can play a part in the finals and have more time to heal.
"Herbie is pretty incredible with the way that he heals to be honest. We all know he got off the death bed one day and helped us win against the Bulldogs," coach Kristian Woolf said.
"He has had other injuries where we thought he was gone for games and gone for weeks but he's managed to heal quickly and go out and play, so I wouldn't write anything off with Herbie.
"He has a terrific mindset with how he goes about his recovery and gets himself ready to play. He is a big loss ... I don't know when he will be back. Hamstrings can be tricky and we are not going to put him at risk.
"As we have seen with other guys in other positions, I have every confidence other guys are going to step up and take more responsibility and show us what they are capable of."
Farnworth's uncle Brian Foley, a former Wigan recruiter and development coach, said Farnworth's "incredible mindset" was one of his great assets.
"Herbie will leave no stone unturned and I have no doubt he will bounce back stronger then ever," Foley told AAP.
"As a 17-year-old at Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup he broke his hand in a game and was ruled out for seven weeks. He came back and broke the hand again.
"He was 16 weeks out of the game and there were two games of the season left. There was a debate with the coach Rohan Smith about whether he would wait until the next season to play again and it was left to Herbie.
"He was determined to play and not wait until the following season."
It was a pivotal point in Farnworth's career when, playing fullback, there was a deep kick into Norths territory by CQ Capras on his injury return.
"Herbie got the ball and went straight through the Capras team, weaving in and out of them as he does, scored under the posts and kicked the goal," Foley said.
"That was a defining moment in his career and very emotional. That's Herbie as a person, as a player and as an athlete. He just has one of the most incredible growth mindsets."