FROM Dream Team to out of the team, Ben Crooks' departure from Hull FC is a story of many chapters.
A player groomed from his early teenage years to be the long-term future at Hull is leaving the club at the tender age of just 21 to try his hand with Parramatta Eels in Australia.
With Hull keeping hold of Crooks' registration, the KC Stadium may not have seen the last of the centre, but if his Aussie odyssey works out how he hopes, the chance for a long career in the NRL means that may not be the case.
As is so often the case in these situations, as soon as Crooks' departure was confirmed some fans were looking to point the finger of blame.
Had Crooks been jettisoned by Hull too early, punished for a run of indifferent form? Were the Black and Whites giving up on a player rather than working with him? Or had Crooks taken his ball home and decided to quit?
The truth lies somewhere else.
With Crooks still having a year to run on his current contract there's no questioning the fact Hull are content to allow the player to leave. It's not a deal against their wishes akin to Tom Briscoe's departure last year.
Head coach Lee Radford is taking a different approach with his squad reshaping, looking for size and strength in his three-quarter line.
That's not to say Crooks wouldn't have found a place in the squad, however. It's understood Hull spoke to Crooks earlier this season about extending his contract, an indication they were open to keeping him on board.
By then the 21-year-old had already made up his mind that he wanted to try his hand in Australia, with Hull working with him to facilitate the move.
In and out of the side at the time, Crooks' position in the squad may well have hastened his decision to leave, but his Aussie ambition is one harboured since his early days as an academy player.
But you can't help feel had Crooks been revelling in a season akin to his 2013 breakout success, we'd not be seeing him leaving our shores.
For that fall from grace Hull have taken some blame in the way they've been perceived to handle the player, but Crooks himself must accept his own responsibility in the matter.
An awful performance in the Challenge Cup final, where he was rushed back from injury too early, knocked his confidence.
The secret to the success of any young player is confidence and the swagger Crooks and Tom Lineham played with in 2013 was undeniable. With his confidence knocked, his start to this season was equally difficult and he found himself out of the side early on, only compounding matters.
Perhaps a soft approach, an arm around the shoulder was needed. Some will argue Hull should have persisted and worked with Crooks, who remains an undoubted exciting talent.
But Hull's contract offer shows a desire to do that, just as Crooks' request to leave and Hull facilitating the move shows a cooperation by both parties to do what's best for the player's development and hopefully keep the relationship intact for him to return.
Hull are losing not just a talented player with plenty of potential, but with that famous surname they're losing a young man steeped in the tradition and history of the club.
The Crooks family through father Lee, uncle Steve Norton and Ben, are as much part of the fabric of Hull FC as anyone who has played for the Black and Whites.
And it's no doubt that emotional attachment that has left the departure of Crooks striking a chord with so many fans.
Will we see him back at FC?
Well, a source close to Crooks told the Mail: "Ben and all the Crooks family have a huge affection for FC, it's their club. That's why Ben is happy for Hull to hold his registration. He didn't want to play for anyone else in Super League."
The relationship intact between both parties, the door has been left wide open for Crooks to return. Whether he walks back through it, only time will tell.
Let's sincerely hope he does.
