Pivotal moments often take their subjects by surprise.
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It is rare that somebody knows exactly when they will learn a life lesson or undergo an eye-opening epiphany - as Liam Ball found out earlier this year.
The 21-year-old had long been earmarked to take over as the North Tamworth Bears hooker after an extended apprenticeship to former premiership-winning coach and captain, Scott Blanch.
During the preseason, it was confirmed that Ball would return to the number nine jersey he had briefly donned in 2022.
And while Blanch has continued to provide insight and support to the Bears at training, the proverbial 'passing of the torch' moment between the two occurred well away from the footy field.
"It was at his garage sale at the start of the year that he gave me some good advice," Ball said.
"I was out there with him, and we sat down and I probably learned more from him then than ever. He told me all the ins and outs, so that was the point where he really started to help me."
Despite being the second-youngest member of the Bears' first grade side, Ball did not feel much personal pressure when stepping into the void left by Blanch's retirement after their eighth-straight premiership last year.
Though there is more than a decade in age between them, Ball said he and Blanch are "close mates" and that the former Manly Sea Eagles reserve-grader told him to make the role his own.
"We're two completely different players," he said.
"I was starting hooker in 2022 until I broke my thumb, which is when Blanchy moved from five eighth to there. So it wasn't new to me, and I've played a lot of hooker when he's been out.
"So it wasn't personal pressure on me, it was more on the team ... because Blanchy had a huge impact on the whole team."
And, in the first six rounds of the competition, Ball has indeed forged his own path.
Compared to Blanch's gritty, physical style of play, Ball said he prefers "eyes up footy, fast and through the middle". While he is yet to perfect it, Ball's performances so far this year have impressed North Tamworth coach Paul Boyce.
"He takes a lot of pride in his performances, and I think he's been doing really well," the third-year Bears coach said.
"He's still a young bloke, so he's got a lot of development in him and he's extremely coachable, extremely passionate, and I think he's doing really well."
Ball's jovial, light-hearted presence in the changerooms is countered, Boyce said, by the "attention to detail" he gives to his footy. And the young man appreciates that, at hooker, he bears some leadership responsibility as a key playmaker.
So when the Bears take on the Wee Waa Panthers in Wee Waa this Sunday, Ball intends to use his voice to help them avoid the lapses in focus they have sometimes shown against lower-ranked teams.
"I've been around now for a few years, and ... I like to have an input, especially being at hooker," he said.
"If I'm out there and yelling at my insides and outsides to get up, it gets me up as well. Just being real loud and real energetic, and when they do something well, let them know about it. And if they do something bad, we don't dwell on it."
