Now based on the Central Coast as he negotiates the Bears' three training sessions a week in Sydney, the 18-year-old North Tamworth Bear must get through four more matches and cuts to make North Sydney's 2021 SG Ball squad.

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He is almost a month into the process with the Sydney Roosters feeder club, and the first cut was on Monday.

"It's very serious," he said of that process.

If the lock forward and 2020 Greater Northern Tiger survives a cut after a clash against the Roosters on Saturday week, he will line up against the Western Suburbs Magpies - before adjourning over Christmas.

His quest to become an NRL player would resume on January 11, with the final squad named after trials against Manly and Penrith.

Born on the Central Coast but based in Tamworth since age 12, Bone is giving the pursuit of his NRL dream "a red-hot crack".

He said: "I'm hoping to play in the SG Ball with the Bears next year and then hopefully pick up something from either the Bears or another club after that, and then hopefully stay down here and keep going on with my footy."

Bone was a member of North Tamworth's 2019 premiership-winning under-18 team.

He left Oxley High at the start of year 11 and became an apprentice carpenter.

He is currently working as a concreter, but aims to resume his carpentry apprenticeship once his North Sydney adventure concludes.

"I do have a lot of confidence in myself," he said.

"But you can't be too confident; you've still gotta work really hard to achieve what you wanna do.

"That's the way I see it, anyway ... I've just gotta keep doing what I'm doing, I guess."

The Farrer alumnus and former North Tamworth Bear, Max Altus, was in the second year of a three-year deal with North Sydney when the 2020 Jersey Flegg season was cancelled after one round due to COVID.

Bone "looks up to" Altus and another former North Tamworth player, Jack Cameron, who this week signed with the Rabbitohs after tasting lower-grade action at the Knights.