AT YESTERDAY'S NRL captains' call some had been there and done it all, some had been there and done most of it and some had been there so long ago - or have stayed so fleetingly - they barely remember it at all.

And some are barely here, heading out the door with a play book in one pocket and a phrase book in the other. Mark Gasnier doesn't take his passport with him every time he plays but he leaves it in a handy position on the dressing table; when the Dragons lose, Gasnier is on the next flight to Gay Paree, with his new owner banking Gasnier arrives in time for Stade Francais's next nude rugby calender.

Done it all? Count Darren Lockyer, Steve Price, Braith Anasta and, of course, Cam Smith in that hand. Lockyer has four premiership rings, more than any player bar Tonie Carroll, who has a matching quartet.

Like Lockyer, Smith has Origin victories and a Test captaincy under his belt, with a premiership added last year and a spot reserved for a second consecutive victory come October 5.

Price might be excused for having thought life in the NRL was easy when he made a grand final in his debut season and won a premiership in his second, way back in the 20th century. Fifteen seasons at the top, including the heartbreak of a knee injury that robbed him of a second title with the Bulldogs in 2004, would convince anyone there's no such thing as a smooth road.

Anasta, then still something of a prodigy, was there that night in 2004 when the Bulldogs last won. He slid into the chair very recently warmed by Sydney's Craig Fitzgibbon, knowing the Roosters will need leadership to match his prodigious talents if they are to progress any further after Friday's finals opener against Brisbane.

Been there and done most of it? Matt Orford led his side out on to the wide open spaces of the Olympic Stadium at Homebush Bay last year. Whoever made up the line that you don't lose gold, you win silver, obviously hasn't tasted defeat in a grand final.

And now Manly, like their key halfback and leader, face the prospect of living with the mantle of being very, very good but not great when the going gets toughest: flat-track bullies of winter. Not that Orford expects to shake it this finals campaign - not even if it ends in glory. "It doesn't matter what I do, that's always going to be there," he said. "You're going to get criticised for something and if that's it, so be it. If it's coming from the coach, the assistant coach or someone within the team, and if it was my game they were not too happy about, I'd definitely take it on board."

Orford says he loves the pressure, loves playing at this time of the year ("I'd rather be playing than sitting at home wondering what I'm going to do for the next few months"). But the pressure still weighs on one of the game's most criticised players, no matter how he tries to normalise it: "It's part of football, it's something you can't escape; you've just got to enjoy it, embrace it."

Sharks captain Paul Gallen last played at finals time in 2005, and the Raiders' Alan Tongue in 2006, although the first week was as far as either got. Gallen, as combative a player as exists in the NRL, is batting one from three finals outings; Tongue one from four. Neither has played in September as captain.

Inexperience has not tempered their enthusiasm. Nor that of Price, likely to be just about the game's oldest player next season. While Melbourne might put an end to the Warriors this Sunday, Price has no plans to stop.

"I'm signed for next year and everyone says that will be it; I've never said it will be, I've never said it won't be. You've got to have enjoyment and really look forward to training and proving yourself … If you don't there's thousands of young kids who are ready to take over and they're quicker, they're bigger, they're stronger. I love the challenge of holding your spot."

That challenge, of staying on top, is one Smith still relishes and one the Storm has faced every week this year - an experience which can only help over the next four weeks.

"It's been a lot tougher for us this year. Each match has been a struggle for us. Even though we've come away with some big wins, every team is on top of their game when they face us."