Zac Hosking had all but given up on playing in the NRL.
After plugging away in reserve grade at the Newcastle Knights for four years while also working full-time as a carpenter, and with no real chance of playing first grade on the horizon, he began making plans last year to return to the local competition this season.
But after an opportunity emerged to trial at the Brisbane Broncos and play with Wynnum Manly Seagulls this year, and on the advice of a couple of coaches of the Newcastle Rugby League sides he was considering joining, Hosking decided to give it "one last crack".
Now, after a standout season in the Queensland Cup and on the back of a host of injuries at the Broncos, the 25-year-old - the son of Manly cult hero David 'The Mule' Hosking - has finally earned his shot.
The Belmont product will make his NRL debut for the Broncos against the Dragons on Sunday.
"It means the world, it's the only thing I've wanted to do since I was a kid," Hosking, the Knights' NSW Cup player of the year last season, told the Newcastle Herald.
"Over the past 12 months, a part of me thought that it wasn't going to happen and I slowly started to accept that.
"But within myself I sort of said, just keep applying yourself, stay positive and you never know what's going to happen."
Hosking's debut will come after plenty of sacrifice. He and his partner, Emily Whitton, left Newcastle so he could chase his dream despite being settled with steady jobs and midway through a home renovation.
When COVID restrictions halted Hosking joining Brisbane's preseason late last year, he trained by himself while other Broncos aspirants were already under the watchful eye of coach Kevin Walters.
Working on a friend's house in Old Bar for five weeks while waiting for the border to reopen, Hosking would make a 5.30am trip into Taree to complete a gym session before returning for work each day.
Field sessions at the Old Bar Pirates' home ground would follow in the afternoon.
"I didn't want to come up here and make a bad impression," he said.
"I know how hard everyone would have been working.
"I didn't want to join the group behind the pace."
Hosking had a feeling he would earn a debut this week after playing for Wynnum last Sunday against Norths Devils, another Broncos affiliate. Two other players who could have got a call-up got injured in the game.
"I knew I was sort of next in line," he said.
The next 48 hours proved a nervous wait.
"I had some of the boys [at Broncos training] saying, 'gee you must be a chance'," he said.
"Then after one of the meetings Kevvie pulled me aside and told me.
"It was a big build up from Sunday afternoon to that moment where all the speculation was put to rest.
"It was a relief, a weight lifted off my shoulders that the unknown was gone.
"I'm glad I found out early in the week and it wasn't a 'oh, you could be in but you might not play'.
"It was a direct 'you'll be in - you'll be starting', which put a lot of confidence in me straight away."
David Hosking learned Zac would be debuting after his other son, Jacob, called to say Zac was featured in a SuperCoach preview.
A couple of hours later he received the official news from Zac in an emotional phone call, as did Zac's mum Belinda.
"We were hoping it was going to come one day, but we thought maybe it might have passed him by," David said.
"Mum didn't believe," Zac added. "They are probably the two most emotional phone calls I've ever made."
Hosking, a back-rower, didn't make any junior rep sides and David, who played 78 first-grade games with South Sydney and Manly, said his son had taken the "back door" into the Knights' system and under-20s side.
"I'm just so proud of him," he said.
"The dedication he put in, he just turned up every week. He is not a flashy player Zac, he is a guy that does all the one per cent stuff."
Outside of his old man, Hosking nominated his 20s coach Todd Lowrie and NSW Cup mentor Andrew Ryan as two people who had helped his development. He also thanked Lakes United coach Ian Bourke for advice.
"I'm really, really happy for him. If there was anyone that I've ever coached or had anything to do with that has earned an NRL game, it's certainly him," Lowrie said.
"He has done it the hard way and hung in there when a lot of others would have given up by now."
Hosking is the second Central Newcastle junior to debut in the NRL this season following Grant Anderson's stunning call-up for Melbourne Storm last month.
He said an "a bit of an army" of family and friends would be in attendance at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
"Through stages this year, we've thought maybe we should have stayed home," Hosking admitted.
"It makes everything we've done, every sacrifice I've made in my life worth it.
"I'm just really proud of myself that I persevered."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien wished Hosking all the best.
"Great kid, great family, worked really hard," O'Brien said.
"I guess the narrative is another one that has come out of this region, but you can't keep them all.
"You'd love to, but we kept Mat Croker and added Leo Thompson.
"But I'm really happy for Zac.
"He gets an opportunity and I wish him all the best."
