For Kurt Fisher, the road ahead is clear but by no means straight forward.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In fact, the journey the 17-year-old from Gunnedah will soon embark on is among the most demanding in professional sports.
Success will move him a step closer to his dream of playing in the NRL, while failure will be a blow to him achieving that lofty ambition.
But upon completion of year 12 at Rockampton this year, Fisher will head to Townsville having given himself a solid platform from which to attack the task of earning a new Cowboys deal.
Read more: Kurt Fisher ticking boxes at the Cowboys
He will become a full-time Cowboys Young Gun and have one more season to prove to the club that he is worth investing more in.
"It's all pretty exciting," he said. "I'm gonna go up there and go my hardest so I can stay on."
Last Saturday at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, Fisher started in the second-row for the North Queensland Young Guns against the Future Titans.
North Queensland won the under-19 clash between some of the clubs' leading development players.
At the game were Fisher's father, Justin, and mother, Natasha, as well as other family members including his grandfather Warren Fisher, who played 68 games for Cronulla in the '70s.
"It was pretty good to see them, because they hadn't watched me play in a while," said the 199cm and 96kg teen.
Fisher moved to Rockhampton at the start of 2021 after signing a three-year deal with the Cowboys. He attends The Cathedral College.
He had been playing fullback but was moved to centre and then the second-row. "And the Cowboys seem to like me there [the second-row], and it sort of just fell into place."
In Townsville, Fisher will live with school friends.
"The only thing now is I've gotta find some work," he said, adding that he planned to return to Gunnedah for a break after finishing high school.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News