LONG before the grey hair, and long before he became a Broncos legend, Corey Parker could have joined Canterbury.

Parker this week told League Central the little-known story about how the Bulldogs offered him good money way back when he was just a teenage skin-headed front-rower who had played no more than 10 games for Brisbane.

It was 2001 when Parker made the trek to Belmore with teammate Brent Tate.

There was a dinner and quick sales pitch by Dogs ­officials.

Sadly for Parker, Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett found out about his little trip to ­Sydney.

“And when I went back home, I found myself in reserve grade the next week,’’ Parker said.

“Wayne knew, and that was one of his ways of letting me know (his thoughts) if I didn’t want to play here.’’

Parker also had an offer from Melbourne. Coach Craig Bellamy had worked with him at the Broncos.

The Storm and Canterbury deals were good. Really good.

“But while the money was lucrative to go elsewhere, I thought if I could make it in Brisbane — I’d already played 10 games — and given their success and the club’s stature, I could make it anywhere,’’ Parker said.

It was a wonderful decision.

Parker is now in his 16th NRL season.

He’s likely to go around again next year. Bennett said he wouldn’t be surprised if Parker stretched it out even further to 2018.

He turned 34 on Thursday. A fitting gift would be a man-of-the-match performance for the Kangaroos against New Zealand on Friday.

Dogs fans would have loved having a workhorse like Parker in their side.

But this isn’t a yarn about the champion forward who slipped through Canterbury’s fingers.

It’s about a Queenslander.

A Queenslander who is ­actually likeable.

One who thinks before he speaks.

A bloke who loves country music, and lives for his wife and four kids.

A gentleman who somehow continues to dominate rivals in the toughest rugby league competition in the world.

The only bloke older than Parker in the Australian side is Paul Gallen.

Gallen remembers swapping jerseys with Parker after a schoolboys clash on the Gold Coast at the end of the last ­century.

“He didn’t have grey hair back then. Nor did I,’’ Gallen quipped.

Gallen said the fact Parker had lasted so long — 332 NRL games and counting — was more significant because he had played all his football in the middle of the park.

You ask Parker the secret to his longevity.

He sits equal fifth in all-time games with former Manly ­favourite Cliff Lyons. Barring injury, he is $1.05 to overtake good mate Darren Lockyer’s all-time record of 355 games at some stage next year.

Parker said the birth of his first child, daughter Memphis, was a defining moment.

“You go along and it’s all about you, then you bring a child into the world and you have responsibility and accountability,’’ Parker said.

“One of the biggest motivations was knowing I had to provide for a family.”

Being surrounded by young forwards, including Brisbane and Kangaroos teammates Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett, also keeps him on his toes.

Parker did the same to the star-studded Broncos forward pack when he first arrived at Red Hill all those years ago.

The cocky kid with the Romper Stomper haircut was more than happy to challenge the likes of Shane Webcke, Gorden Tallis, Brad Thorn and Petero Civoniceva. These blokes were old-school tough.

Civoniceva said Parker was involved in a few push and shoves, but never took a backward step.

“You couldn’t intimidate him, and that’s what won him respect at the club,’’ Civoniceva said.

One player who has improved with age like Parker is Cameron Smith, the world’s greatest hooker who grew up a few doors down from Parker’s nanna’s house.

There were countless afternoons spent playing backyard footy.

Imagine the dummy spits by the poor kids in the neighbourhood whenever Parker and Smith were paired up.

Parker has a huge opinion of Smith. He says the Storm legend has the physical build of a banker, “and that’s no disrespect to bankers’’, but he remained the toughest player he’d ever come up against.

“It’s bizarre to think 20 years ago we were just couple of kids having a bit of fun, and fast forward 20 years and we’re still running around having fun,’’ Parker said of Smith.

Smith said Parker’s best football had come in the past three years, and his performance in Queensland’s Game III hammering of NSW last year was a real standout.

“He was unstoppable that night,’’ Smith said.

“He made plenty of tackles, he offloaded at will, he presented so many opportunities to the rest of the team with his game.”

“Early on in his career, he had a simple job where he thought he had to make metres, run over the top of people and play the ball. Now there are a lot of aspects to his game, which makes him a dangerous footballer. When he’s carrying the ball, you don’t know what he’s going to do.’’

Bennett can be a tough marker. But not even the super­coach had a bad word to say about Parker. In fact, Bennett could not recall Parker ever putting in a shocker.

A Queensland Cup semi-final performance against Easts Tigers when Parker was a teenager still sticks in the back of Bennett’s mind.

“His whole career has been in the middle of the field, every game he makes 40-odd tackles and 20-odd carries, so he’s in the action all the time,’’ Bennett said.

“As players get older, you have to be a bit careful with them because their (poor) performances can be hidden by the team, but in his case, he’s nearly our best player every week. He’s in our top five every week anyway.’’

Expect the old boy to be one of Australia’s top five players on Friday.