HARRY Brett was toiling away in the forwards for Hamilton second grade when he caught the eye of first grade coach Marty Berry.
Berry, a former All Black, insists on the ball being in hand at training and tests players under pressure in game-type scenarios.
He doesn't focus on the number on the player's back. He looks at their skill set and how they react.
Brett, a stringbean 19-year-old, had switched between lock and the back-row in twos, but Berry had other ideas.
He was plucked to play on the wing against University on July 16 - a 38-13 victory.
After returning to second grade and the forwards for two games, Brett was recalled to first grade and the wing, and responded with a brilliant try in a 27-24 triumph over Wanderers.
In a further show of confidence, the teenager was deployed at fullback in the 65-0 rout of Singleton last round.
A first-grade spot now, is seemingly, his to lose.
"We play a lot of games at training," Berry said. "I could see Harry had the pace for it and he has the skills. I was more than happy to play him in the backs. He is definitely up to it.
"He is quite lean, probably too skinny for the forwards. We have GPS trackers on the players. He ran over 10 kilometres on Saturday which is phenomenal. A lot at high speed too. It is OK having good stats but you still have to do good things around the ball. We challenged him to do that and he did."
Brett wasn't totally foreign to playing in the outside backs after spending two seasons at fullback in the under-18s.
"I grew up playing second-row but in my first year of under-18s, we didn't have a fullback and had a heap of forwards," Brett said. 'The coach told me, 'you are pretty quick, you can play there'."
Missing the "contact in the forwards" he returned to the engine room in grade.
Asked, where he now preferred playing Brett said: "I don't really know anymore. I have been enjoying playing wing and fullback lately. I'm getting my hands on the ball a bit more.
"When I first started playing fullback, that was a bit of an adjustment. I got used to it pretty quick. Now I know when to switch in between. The biggest thing in first grade is decision making. Even on the wing, you get the ball and have three guys on you straight away."
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Brett's dad, Martin, is the Hawks first grade forwards coach.
"When I was selected [in the top grade], Marty called me after work to let me know," Brett said. "Then dad came home with a big grin on his face.
"We are always talking footy at home. It has gotten to a point where we will be having dinner after training and mum will say: 'no more talk about footy, I'm done'."
When the Brett family moved up from Sydney five years ago, Martin, affectionately known as Moose, ran the Sunnyside Hotel, which was then the Hawks' pub sponsor.
"I would be taking out meals from the restaurant as a 15 year old to Steve Lamont, Geraint Weaver, Angus Brown and Seva Rokobaro. Now I am playing alongside them. It is a bit surreal.
"I have always wanted to play first grade but didn't think it would happen so soon this year. I have to make the most of it."
