The Canberra second-rower will line up against Brisbane in a home final on Sunday in the form of his career and with a strong chance to play in his first NRL grand final.
With inspirational prop Josh Papalii named but in doubt with an ankle injury, Hosking will be called upon to lead from the front against a red-hot Broncos side.
But if not for Brisbane, the 28-year-old would likely be working as a carpenter, far away from the buzz and excitement of professional football.
A Newcastle junior, Hosking toiled away for half a decade in the Knights lower grades without gaining a sniff of first grade.
Then in 2022, as he was contemplating giving up on his rugby league dream, the Broncos came knocking.
"I was pretty sick and tired of being overlooked to be honest. So I pretty much said that was it, and when the Broncos opportunity came up I almost didn't take it," he told AAP.
It was a "heartbreaking" decision to throw away his league ambitions.
"But I was pretty over it, you know, because I was working full time as a carpenter at the same time. So that was hard to juggle footy and that as well," he said.
"Once the Broncos thing came up, a few people that were close to me said don't look back. So I had one last crack and it's turned out well."
Even after signing his 16-week train-and-trial contract, Hosking was nearly denied an NRL debut again.Â
This time, pandemic border closures prevented him from crossing into Queensland to train with the team for the first eight weeks of his contract.
It was only in the last week of his trial that Hosking finally got his call-up, and from then the offers started coming in.
"Crazy how it all panned out," he said.
In 2023, he was an integral member of Penrith's title-winning squad but was overlooked for the Panthers' thrilling grand final comeback win against the Broncos.
"It was heartbreaking. It's something I still think about all the time," Hosking said.
"It's something that I'd like to forget about by winning one here."
Although he has a lot of love for the Broncos after they gave him his start, Hosking won't be doing them any favours on Sunday.
"I actually really embrace coming up against my old sides, because there's some mates in those sides, but also I always like to get it over them as well," he said.
"They're obviously a team full of exceptional athletes in their side. We need to do our homework this week and chop them down."
Despite his late arrival in the NRL, Hosking will be the second-oldest member of Canberra's forward pack behind captain Joe Tapine, if Papalii is ruled out.
And his experience will be crucial in the Raiders' attempts to defuse the likes of Pat Carrigan and Payne Haas, whom Hosking regards as "one of the best front rowers every year".
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