Wearing the silver fern at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games this year was redemption of sorts for Tony Grantham.
The Auckland bowler first tasted that level of bowls when he competed at the 2014 games in Glasgow, and he added national titles that season in pairs and fours with his Birkenhead club.
Then came a 2017-18 period full of mixed emotions.
As the incumbent lead for the national team for the previous five years, he played a key role as lead in the transtasman team that beat Australia.
Despite this success, he missed selection for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Grantham decided to work harder at his game, only to suffer a potentially career-ending injury when lifting a light weight on a shoulder press at the gym.
"As I went up, all I could hear was like a piano wire snapping and the weight just dropped.
"I knew I was gone. So I went and got it looked at."
He was diagnosed with one snapped tendon and, while waiting four months for ACC approval, damaged a further two tendons and suffered a muscle tear.
Eighteen months of determination and not giving up on the road to full recovery paid off when selected in the team of five for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
"It means a lot to me, wearing that silver fern," he said.
"It’s a passion of mine to put the black shirt on. It’s overwhelming. Every time you put that shirt on in the morning, you think of all your family and friends that have supported you throughout your career and what you want to achieve in the game to honour that support."
Grantham enjoys playing the North East Valley 10,000, which he won in 2011.
Being patient was the key to succeeding in the tournament, he said.
"Anyone can beat anyone on the day. There are no easy games out there.
"Having patience and not letting things get on top of you — if you fall behind, it’s just a matter of scoring. You may get a one and maybe on the next end you may pick up a two or a three."
Grantham made a good start at the weekend with victories over talented younger players Sheldon Bagrie-Howley and Oliver Mason.
He found Queenstown bowler Nick Buttar a tricky prospect in the fourth round, falling behind before coming home to win 25-23.
Grantham’s tournament then ended in the quarterfinal qualifying round when he succumbed to fellow Black Jack Blake Signal.
As a 16-year-old, Grantham followed his father (John) and brother (John jun) into the sport of bowls.
"I just thought I’d have a go," he said.
"I never thought I’d ever be at this level. But I had mentors at the Birkenhead Bowling Club such as Danny O’Connor, Ross Haresnape and Rowan Brassey."
Grantham’s first national success came in 2007, when he won the New Zealand singles title on the greens at Logan Park.
He followed this up by winning the 2007 world singles champion of champions title, in Australia, beating Will James (Swaziland) 16-3, 6-6.
It was somewhat of a lonely experience as he was the only New Zealand representative at that tournament, Grantham said.
But after winning the world title, he had a "good night that went until the early hours of the morning. It was a real buzz."
Getting home and walking into the Birkenhead club was an emotional moment for Grantham.
"I walked in and saw my father there with tears streaming from his eyes and the whole club there with him. "
Grantham credits both titles as his first big break into New Zealand teams.
He won two medals with the national team at the 2011 Asia-Pacific championships in Adelaide, and the following year won a bronze medal in the triples at the 2012 world bowls championships, also in Adelaide.
