Heilum Luki is having a moment.
Fans can't stop gushing about the towering forward after last week's 42-22 win over the Dragons in Townsville.
The 22-year-old was awarded man-of-the-match for an impressive two tries, 192 running metres and 21 tackles without a miss.
It was a performance his teammate, Coen Hess, described as "coming of age" for the Cairns young gun, who is 195cm tall.
Chatter of a Maroons jersey is swirling around his name, but Luki is doing his best to block it all out.
"I don't take much notice, try not let it get to my head, just keep working … so, it doesn't affect me too much," Luki said.
The Round 11 match was only his second game back after four weeks on the sidelines for a hamstring injury.
Last year, his season came to a heartbreaking end after he tore his ACL.
The two injuries were an abrupt pause on Luki's career momentum.
Now he takes nothing for granted.
"I'm extremely grateful to be playing again after my ACL … Coming back, it felt like my debut again and, once I did get through the game, it was just about trying to make the team every week."
Luki is the second-oldest of five siblings. He grew up in the picturesque Cairns suburb of Freshwater, surrounded by rainforest, swimming holes and cane fields.
"It was unreal. I had plenty of mates who loved to play footy. We played before and after school and we all lived within walking or bike-ride distance."
While Luki credits his mum's side for his height, it's his dad from whom he inherited his love of footy and Pacific Islander heritage.
His Samoan grandmother and Niuean grandfather live in Cairns.
"I was around my grandparents quite a bit," Luki said.
His grandfather, Aquilar Luki, was born in Niue and moved to New Zealand as child.
Less than 2,000 people live on the island nation of Niue and its total land mass is just 260 square kilometres.
Luki hopes to visit one day.
"I've heard so many great stories from over there. It's definitely on the bucket list," Luki said.
Luki's grandfather is a community leader and engagement advisor in Cairns.
He has shared some of his immigration story publicly.
"There is no wharf on my tiny island. So, we went out on dinghies to the freight ship, which took us to Fiji," he was quoted as saying on the website of Hambledone House community centre.
"After two weeks at sea, we landed in Fiji. We flew from Nadi Airport to Auckland. That was quite an experience.
"The highest we'd ever been before was a coconut tree."
When playing for the Cowboys was still a dream for the young teenager, Luki represented Niue for footy at the Pasifika Youth Cup in New Zealand.
It was pivotal moment for his grandparents, he said.
"Seeing how proud my Pop was of me to go and represent where he was from what, what I most took away from that,"' Luki said.
Luki's NRL development was firmly rooted in rugby league-mad Cairns.
He was a junior for Central Scorpions and Cairns Brothers, then played U20 for the Queensland Cup's Cairns-based team, the Northern Pride.
And he was selected for the Cairns chapter of the Cowboys Academy at just 16 years of age.
His NRL debut was in 2021, where he played 11 games in his debut season, scoring three tries and picking up the Cowboys' Rookie of the Year award.
When he first moved to Townsville, he boarded with Cowboys team chaplain Aaron Mealing.
Proving his dedication and grit, Luki stayed in Townsville during last year's season-ending rehabilitation for his ACL.
He was given the option to go home to Cairns, but he choose to stay close to his club,
"I was extremely upset that I wasn't playing any footy, but got over it very quickly. I just wanted to get straight into rehab and to walk and run again. I didn't have any dark thoughts or anything like that …"
Luki says Townsville "is just like Cairns" and finds it easy to stay grounded.
He still catches up with his former host and chaplain who takes him fishing and crabbing,
"Mud crabs are still around. You just got to know where the secret spots are," he laughs.
"And they're very sweet tasting down here too."
Luki will be back in the number 11 jersey against the West Tigers on Saturday in Sydney.
The following day Origin team lists will be announced for the Maroons and Blues.
If Luki misses out this year, no one is in doubt: If he keeps playing at his current level, he will be the first player of Niuean heritage selected for Origin.
