This weekend, Hayze Perham is just one of the lads supporting his Rotorua Boys High School teammates at the Condor Sevens.
But next week he'll be rubbing shoulders with his idols at the Warriors after signing a full-time NRL contract with the club.
"I'm fortunate enough to be a part of the full-time squad which allows me to be surrounded in the professional environment everyday," he said.
Warriors preseason training is already in full swing and Perham got his first taste of it on Friday.
"I came up to Auckland thinking it was going to be hard and it really exceeded that expectation," he said.
"It was nothing like I've ever experienced before."
Tomorrow, he moves into the Warriors house - a home away from home for rising stars transitioning into professional football.
At just 18 years of age, it's just what Perham needed having already once moved to Sydney to join the Penrith Panthers.
"Bringing a young boy over from New Zealand at such a young age, it was pretty hard for me.
"I Didn't play my best footy over there just cause of the fact that I was away from home."
But Perham found his form quickly upon returning home – so much so he earned selection for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Barbarians last year.
Super rugby teams then started to come calling but the Warriors were first choice.
"They're boys I've looked up to for these last few years," Perham said.
The first step to playing alongside them will likely be with the under 20s side where Perham can work on his game and goal of earning a spot in the halves or fullback – positions currently filled by two of the country’s best in Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
"[I’m just going to] soak up as much knowledge from them as I can to build myself as a player but also as a person."
His talent is what excites most, but you get a sense this young man has much more than that.
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