Rugby, Australian Football: Patten taking nothing for granted

LUKE PATTEN recalls climbing the steps of the St George Illawarra team bus in 1999 and sitting next to his Dragons team-mate Brad Mackay.

The Bulldogs custodian was only 19 at the time and still pinching himself at making his first grand final in only his second year of first grade.

Mackay, a 30-year-old Dragons veteran and former Test forward who had played in losing grand finals in 1992-93, planted a hand on the back of his young team-mate and offered some words of wisdom.

"He said to me, 'Make sure you take it all in because it doesn't come around that often and you'll take it for granted'. And he was absolutely right," Patten said yesterday.