About a decade after he left Ashford as a 17-year-old to pursue his goal of becoming a professional footballer, Chris Lewis has finally made his NRL debut - and what a ride it has been.
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Coming on for the Storm in the dying minutes of their 22-8 defeat of the Rabbitohs, at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Friday night, was a "dream come true" for the second-rower, who has utility value. He is the Storm's oldest-ever NRL debutant.
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Adding to the special occasion was the presence at AAMI Park of his parents, Mick and Pauleen, who arrived in Melbourne on the morning of the match and gained entry into the game when the Storm made them the designated ball retrievers. Crowds are still barred from games because of COVID-19.
Post-match, the 190 centimetre and 108 kilogram forward told NRL.com that he would hang his game jersey on a wall and "never touch it again".
He said: "I've been through the wringer a little bit. I've had two knee reconstructions, I had a shoulder reconstruction, I've had my ankle rebuilt, had thumb surgery ... I've been cut from every team you can possibility get into.
"So, this [debuting in the NRL] is an amazing thing for me personally. It's my 28th birthday next week, and this is something that's a dream come true for me."
Melbourne signed Lewis in November after he played for the their feeder club, the Sunshine Coast Falcons, in the Intrust Super Cup in 2018 and 2019. He was named the Falcons' best forward both years.
Lewis signed with St George-Illawarra straight out of high school, and played SG Ball for the Illawarra Steelers. When he left the Dragons, he played for the Shellharbour Sharks, the Thirroul Butchers, the Helensburgh Tigers and the Illawarra Cutters, before re-signing with the Dragons for the 2017 season.
He was on the outer at St George-Illawarra and, consequently, was miserable there.
Next stop was the Falcons, although he got another chance to keep his NRL dream alive when spent the preseason with the Storm prior to the 2018 season.
"It's been an amazing journey getting here [to Friday night]," he said. "I started with just the [2020] preseason and worked my way up. It's been a great experience, loved every minute of it."
"I knew I was turning 28, I was looking to make a debut [in the NRL], but it was a long shot," he added. "But hard work and dedication, and these sort of things happen."
Lewis was working as a history teacher at Caloundra State High School when he signed a one-year development contract with Melbourne, meaning he is not part of the club's 30-man NRL squad.
He believes that Storm coach Craig Bellamy selected him to make his debut because he impressed at training and he has utility value.
Last Wednesday, he had "sweated" waiting to learn if he had been selected for the Rabbitohs clash. The dream call was made by Bellamy early that evening. "He finally said I was getting the nod, so it's been a bit of a whirlwind since then."
Lewis's parents paid for his two knee reconstructions, as well as his shoulder and ankle reconstructions. They also resolutely supported him during his junior days. Mick - a long-serving former principal of Ashford Central School and a former Group 19 president - coached his son when he was a junior.
Mick and Pauleen live on a farm in tiny Ashford.
"My parents obviously sacrificed a lot for me to pursue my career in rugby league," Lewis said.
