Jamal Fogarty, once doubting his NRL prospects, now leads Raiders with young, talented teammates.
It wasn't so long ago that Canberra's Jamal Fogarty had given up on becoming an NRL player.
Fast-forward a few years, and he has a golden chance to become the Raiders' first premiership-winning halfback in more than three decades.
Fogarty is surrounded by boy wonders in the nation's capital: 20-year-old halves partner Ethan Strange, rookie Owen Pattie and fullback Kaeo Weekes have all been instrumental to their fairytale rise to first on the ladder.
By his own admission, though, Fogarty was anything but a prodigy at the same stage of his own career.
"Comparing me to the talent that these kids have is just completely different," he told AAP.
"I was...