Trent Taylor slipped off quietly to the Newcastle Knights last November and then reappeared with a bang - bamboozling defenders to score in round one of Group 4's new nines comp.
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The 19-year-old has the glow of a young man who is captivated by life's possibilities.
He is "grateful" for his family's "sacrifices" so he could be part of the Knights' Jersey Flegg squad. And he would be "grateful" if those sacrifices led to an NRL contract.
"But it's not playing on my mind just yet," said Taylor, who plays in the halves or fullback. "[I'm] just taking it day by day - just trying to do the best I can."
Taylor was also "grateful" to be at Scully Park on a sublime spring night, as a healthy crowd turned up for the launch of the Wests Entertainment Group 9s.
The one-month competition has provided players and fans with an appreciated dose of local rugby league action after the Group 4 season was cancelled because of COVID.
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Taylor's Marius Street Family Dental beat Shay Brennan Constructions 16-10 and then lost 17-10 to Carey's Freight Lines in the fourth and final match of the night.
Hailing from Tamworth but now living in Newcastle, Taylor works as a labourer and plays under-19s for South Newcastle, who play in week one of the finals this weekend.
The teen - who appeared on the Knights' radar after a series of eye-catching performances for Farrer and the Greater Northern Tigers - linked with South Newcastle after the Knights shut down their Jersey Flegg program because of COVID.
That happened two rounds into the season. He "assumes" he will return to the Knights for preseason training next month, although official word on the restart is yet to come.
"It was going really good ... and then the COVID stuff hit," Taylor said. "[It] just put a dampener on that."
"There's always next year," he continued, adding that he would have played first grade at Dungowan with his father Luke, an NRL game development officer, had the Group 4 season gone ahead (he played in the Cowboys' under-18 side last year).
Taylor initially "didn't like" living in Newcastle. "But now there's a few of my mates down there and it's going pretty good. Everything's falling into place."
Taylor was selected in the First Nations rugby sevens squad in 2019 and the Australian oztag under-17 development team in 2018.
