(Image: Matthew Merrick/SWpix.com)
TALKING to Chris Atkin earlier this week, I expected the conversation to mainly centre around his exit from Bradford Bulls, how he found his time there under Kurt Haggerty and what was next for him after leaving Odsal.
Of course, we covered all of that, but given this was a man away on a lovely family holiday in Mexico, I was shocked at how eager he was to keep talking and talking.
Now, 95 per cent of the time when you can't get someone off the phone, you're desperate to find a way out of the conversation.
But that wasn't the case with Atkin, who it's safe to say is one of the most engaging and interesting rugby league footballers I've ever spoken to.
Many won't know about Atkin's teaching background, that he's fully qualified and has already spent a year working in a high school.
But he is glad to have that in his back pocket ahead of retirement in a few years.
And when our conversation about his regular half-back partner at Bradford, Riley Dean, turned into a wider debate about the merits of full-time rugby league or a career away from the game, I knew this was something Atkin had thought a lot about.
Dean spoke to the T&A at Bulls' end of season awards last month, where he told us he was studying quantum surveying at university.
Earlier that week, I'd been on the phone with Sam Hallas, who admitted he was seeking a move back into the Championship after leaving Bradford, so he could pick up his career as a mortgage adviser.
Both players have now got their part-time wish, Dean heading to Halifax and Hallas departing for Dewsbury.
Sam Hallas (left) is a smart man and a career in mortgage advice should earn him plenty of money. (Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com)
I think the world of Hallas, an all-action player with a heart of gold and a great sense of humour.
But he admitted to me 12 months ago that he hadn't really expected to get a Super League chance again after a decade away from the top-flight.
Yet if last year was a bonus for Hallas, for Dean it was a chance to re-prove himself at that level.
After a shaky start, he became one of Bradford's most dangerous players in the final few weeks of the season and could probably count himself a little unlucky to be released.
But as Atkin mused, is Dean now in a better position out of Super League?
We are STILL awaiting next season's format to be finalised, but the uncertainty extends far beyond that.
The salary caps in Super League are far lower than the NRL and the wages of the best UK-based players are dwarfed in comparison to their footballing counterparts.
It therefore makes sense for the likes of Atkin to have something to fall back on once they leave the game, the 33-year-old having done his teaching qualifications while he was part-time at Swinton.
Yet Dean is only 25 and theoretically has his best years ahead of him.
However, if all goes to plan for him and he qualifies as a quantity surveyor, why would he ever want to return to Super League?
He'd have a far more lucrative and longer career in that field than he would in full-time rugby league, while he could still spend a few years as a top Championship half-back.
Head coach Kurt Haggerty admitted last winter that it was a big call for some of those coming up to Super League with the Bulls from the Championship, the likes of Hallas and Ebon Scurr.
They both have more than useful qualifications and had good jobs outside of the sport, but they knew they would have to give those up to go full-time at Bradford.
Understandably, the heart played a big part in them committing to the club, Hallas for reasons already mentioned and Scurr having come through the ranks at Bulls.
Ebon Scurr has work to fall back on if he does decide to drop out of full-time rugby league at any point. (Image: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)
But the former is already back in work and while the latter had his moments in 2026, he was dropped for a game against Hull KR, despite the squad being decimated, and he faces stiff competition in the forward pack going forward.
If Scurr does not get regular game time next year, would he seek a move elsewhere in Super League, or would he consider cutting his losses and returning to work?
Ultimately, dreams don't pay the bills and is the encouragement there for players, especially ones at risk of being deemed not quite good enough, to stick it out full-time?
Super League is not going to suddenly start losing all of its players but that foresight from Atkin over a decade ago looks increasingly shrewd.
And Dean's future plans just seem smart and could set him up for life.
Super League is increasingly well marketed, but if it is potentially losing talents like Dean for good because the job security just isn't there, then no amount of positive spin can fix that.