After four years of watching from the margins of one of rugby league's great dynasties, Jack Cole steps into the NRL finals spotlight for Penrith this Sunday — his 22nd career game, and perhaps his most consequential. Circumstance opened the door, but patience and preparation are what carried him through it. As he prepares to leave the Panthers at season's end for a fresh start with the Perth Bears, Cole finds himself exactly where the long wait was always pointing: at the centre of something that matters.