SHANNON McDonnell had a weird dream on Thursday night.
"I was sitting down chatting with Michael Jackson," the Knights fullback said.
"He was about to get up and dance too when I was woken by a message on my phone . . . mum texting to say he'd died."
The Novocastrian flyer can boast to be the only NRL player to ever perform alongside the King of Pop in concert.
Back in 1996, a then-schoolboy McDonnell danced alongside Jackson as he sang Earth Song and then Smooth Criminal at his blockbuster SCG concert. Some 15 minutes that even today the flyer describes as "surreal".
"Because growing up I was obsessed with MJ," he reveals. "Used to watch his videos every day, practise the moves. It was actually because of him that I got involved with the Glenda Yee Dance School from about age seven.
"And I can still remember speaking with him at that concert too. He thanked us all for being involved. Incredible."
So does he dream of the Moonwalker often?
"No, first time," he shrugs. "It's a bit weird but I have had a few similar experiences over the years - dreaming things that have then happened. I'm just glad that with all Jacko's DVDs and albums, well, he's never really gone."