Nick Cotric's dreamt of State of Origin since he was a little kid and teammate Blake Austin hopes the Canberra Raiders young gun's potential to represent NSW 30 times doesn't count against him on Monday.
That's when NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler will name his team for the series opener against Queensland at the MCG and Cotric will be having dinner with his mates at the time.
His selection would cap a remarkable start to his career. Not to mention make a dream come true.
Raiders winger Nick Cotric has dreamed of playing Origin since he was a little kid.
Photo: NRL Imagery
"Oh definitely, it's been a dream of mine to play for the Blues ever since I was little," Cotric said.
"I remember watching it on TV with my family and friends. Definitely, definitely a big dream of mine."
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The 19-year-old has looked right at home in the NRL since he made his debut against the North Queensland Cowboys in round one last year.
Since then he's played 36 games, scored 23 tries, been named NRL rookie of the year and seamlessly filled in for Jack Wighton at fullback.
No challenge has fazed the Tuggeranong junior, with Blues advisor Greg Alexander saying Cotric was one of the three contenders to fill NSW's two wing spots along with Melbourne Storm's Josh Addo-Carr and Sydney Roosters' Blake Ferguson.
Alexander has also said Cotric was the sort of player who could handle whatever level he played.
Recently retired Queensland legend Cameron Smith made his Origin debut aged 20 before going on to play in 42 Origins.
Given Cotric's age, there's no reason he couldn't finish his career in the same ballpark.
"That's the only thing I hope doesn't go against him – that they say he's going to play 30 Origins anyway so what's another year," Austin said.
"But he's ready now, there's no doubt about that. Put him in there and watch the kid run."
And run the kid can.
He scored two tries in the Raiders' thrilling 21-20 victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium on Friday night, was centimetres away from having a hat-trick and set up another with a pin-point kick.
Then there was the 127 run metres, two line breaks, a tackle bust and of course zero errors.
They're the things Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer loves about his good mate – the hard work he's willing to do to help out the team when bringing the ball out of his own half.
"All the tries and fancy stuff he does, [but] for me it's the things he does when the chips are down – the carries out of yardage when all the boys are tired, the 1 per centers, he comes up with barely any errors for such a young bloke, and his work ethic is second to none," Sezer said.
"He's one of my good mates and I enjoy the kid's company, but I wish him all the best and there'll be nothing better than to see his name in a blue jersey come Monday."
It's more than just his powerful running, finishing ability, hard work and statistics – it's also about his shy, likeable demeanour.
All his teammates talk about him as a breath of fresh air around the club, like a little kid who just wants to play football.
And get better. Coach's love Cotric because he's always striving to get better.
Even after his blinder on Friday night, he still was looking towards the next training session and his next chance to improve.
What does he make of the hype?
Getting talked about as an Origin contender at such a young age could be daunting, but it's like water off a future Blues' back as he's seemingly oblivious to the hype that surrounds him.
"It's definitely nice, but at the same time I've still got a lot of improvement to do. [I had] a few errors [on Friday] that I've got to fix, just the little things and just get better each week," Cotric said.
David Polkinghorne covers the Canberra Raiders, local rugby league, Canberra Cavalry, racing and cycling, along with every other sport, for The Canberra Times.
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