Eighteen-year-old Ethan Strange was lost for words. Most rookies would be if Ricky Stuart and Elliott Whitehead pulled them aside and told them they were about to realise an NRL dream.
"He got a little rattled. There was a pause there, sort of in disbelief," Stuart said, "then Elliott said to him: 'You're allowed to cry, you know?'
"I turned away because I'm the emotional one, I thought I was going to go.