Jack's laid-back air hides a fierce desire to succeed: 'I've always loved money'

Fresh from knocking off work, the Tamworth roofer had inched further towards his dream of running his own business.

It's a dream that began in earnest when he dropped out of school at the start of year 10 to begin a roofing apprenticeship. The former Tamworth High student has long been driven by his love of money.

"I've always been pretty keen on just getting as much as I can," he said, adding that he "wasn't really learning much" at school.

"I just wanted to get out of there," he told the Leader. "I knew it [school] wasn't for me. I just wanted to get a head start on everyone else."

That philosophy resulted in Edser recently buying his second car - a 2016 Mitsubishi Triton. He brought up the car's purchase when asked what his most treasured possession was.

"Nah, I'm not really," he said, when asked if he was a car man. "I just don't really have anything else [that's worthy of prized-possession status]."

Within five years, Edser wants to own a home. But right now, he wants to own a starting spot in the Dungowan Cowboys' side.

On Saturday, April 27, he scored a winger's try in Dungowan's 42-16 win over the Bulldogs at Dungowan. It was his second first-grade match (the Cowboys junior made his top-grade debut this year).

His father Michael, the person he most admires, missed the game due to his job. Edser said his dad "works on roads".

The teen's earliest memory involves his father picking him up on his birthday and driving him around in his work truck.

He was about five years old and "was still living between" his mother and father, he said.

"And then stuff went down and I moved in with my dad, and I've been with my dad ever since," he said, adding that the tough family situation was probably the biggest challenge of his life.

"It was decently tough, but it was for the better."

Michael Edser "gets through it and doesn't complain" when faced with a challenge, his son said.

Unsurprisingly, then, Edser said the most important lesson life had taught him was to "keep going".

"If anything happens, just push through it."

Edser regards himself as likeable and kind, and rates his "talk" as his greatest asset: "I like to talk a lot - get a bit of chat going."

Ahead of sixth-placed Dungowan's road trip to last-placed Narrabri on Saturday, May 5, Edser also revealed that as a child he wanted to be a professional rugby league player.

"But I abandoned that pretty quick and started working."