It took moving heaven and earth to escape his Brisbane contract, but just a $3 ice cream and a walk around the block for Karl Oloapu to know where he wanted to be.
It was the teenage saga that kept giving, Oloapu signing a contract with the Broncos whilst between managers, only to declare 'I'll never play for Brisbane as long as I live' late last year.
After months of back and forth, Brisbane decided they'd release the teenager - if a rival paid a $500,000 transfer fee to the club for his signature.
It took Canterbury $500,000 to get Oloapu out, yet just a few gold coins to convince him to choose Belmore over Bennett.
The Dolphins were considered early favourites for the five-eighth's signature after they held a lucrative contract in front of him, however Oloapu's manager, Matt Adamson, revealed how Cameron Ciraldo won Karl over.
"The Bulldogs took Karl to dinner and we were all sitting around afterwards and the kid, being an 18-year-old, started to get restless," Adamson told WWOS.
"I think Cameron Ciraldo sensed this and he said to me, 'Do you mind if I take Karl for a walk and an ice cream'.
"I said 'Go for it' and 15 minutes later they came back and Karl had made up his mind to join the Bulldogs.
"He had other options but just the fact that Cameron wanted to get to know him one-on-one over an ice cream and outline his vision for the kid proved the difference.
"It's a great opportunity for Karl - he's had a rough 12 months with what happened at the Broncos but in the end the club did the right thing by him by letting him go."
While Oloapu's signature is a prized one, it has seen the club drop out of the race for Mitchell Moses, who Canterbury were at one point favourites for.
The rookie has leapt straight into Canterbury's top 30, and is set to learn off the likes of Matt Burton and Kyle Flanagan this season before making the eventual jump into the NRL.
