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A sudden realisation hit Sydney Roosters young gun Cheyse Blair when he trained with the academy squad after they arrived for a weeklong camp.
Less than 12 months ago Blair was one of the bright eyed youngsters keen to rub shoulders with the NRL stars.
Today at Loop Road training ground he was part of the Roosters fulltime training squad, the same place he began his rise in the ranks earlier this year.
“It was January and that was me down here with them,” Blair said of his former academy teammates.
“There are still guys there who were down here with me in January and a few new ones. I didn’t recognise all of them to begin with.
“There were guys who grew up 10 to 15 minutes away from where I live so it was good to catch up with them,” he said.
2009 has been a year to savour for the 17-year-old.
Blair overcame a knee injury to feature in the Roosters SG Ball and Toyota Cup sides before eventually running out for the Australia Schoolboy’s side that faced Great Britain.
The good fortune has continued over the past month and a bit where Blair has joined Brian Smith’s training squad in preparation for the new season.
More hard work is yet to come but for now Blair is a prime example to his former teenage peers that academy success can happen in a very short time.
Less than 12 months ago Blair was one of the bright eyed youngsters keen to rub shoulders with the NRL stars.
Today at Loop Road training ground he was part of the Roosters fulltime training squad, the same place he began his rise in the ranks earlier this year.
“It was January and that was me down here with them,” Blair said of his former academy teammates.
“There are still guys there who were down here with me in January and a few new ones. I didn’t recognise all of them to begin with.
“There were guys who grew up 10 to 15 minutes away from where I live so it was good to catch up with them,” he said.
2009 has been a year to savour for the 17-year-old.
Blair overcame a knee injury to feature in the Roosters SG Ball and Toyota Cup sides before eventually running out for the Australia Schoolboy’s side that faced Great Britain.
The good fortune has continued over the past month and a bit where Blair has joined Brian Smith’s training squad in preparation for the new season.
More hard work is yet to come but for now Blair is a prime example to his former teenage peers that academy success can happen in a very short time.