ON Friday morning, I celebrated my 51st birthday at breakfast with a couple of friends at the cafe atop the Kangaroo Point cliffs in Brisbane. As we ate, I took in the panoramic view of Brisbane's central business district beneath a clear winter sky and saw a city that reflected the Queensland State of Origin team.
Looking across the river to the gleaming buildings of the CBD, it was easy to forget that not so long ago this was a city with a broken heart.
Back in January, that same picturesque river did its best to bring Brisbane to its knees, delivering devastating floods that swamped parts of the city and that added to the agony of Queenslanders across the state in a summer of disaster.
But on Friday, I saw a city and a state that have emerged from their darkest hours to once again stand proud and successful.
In each building, standing defiantly over the very river that tried to drown them, I saw the reflection of every player who has played for Queensland - especially the team this year in our toughest Origin campaign.............