Miles is exactly that from nowhere, a town of 1500 people on the banks of Dogwood Creek, some 350 kilometres west of Brisbane, in Queensland's Darling Downs.

"At our swimming and athletics carnivals Darren Lockyer still holds a few records," Bateman, 20, said. "I don't think I was even born then."

Lockyer, the former Australian and Queensland captain, is associated more with nearby towns of Wandoan and Roma, where he predominantly grew up.

But ask Bateman, rated within Raiders ranks as a future cornerstone of the club, who he best represents in the NRL and he lists them in this order: family, Miles, then Queensland.

"Someone from Miles said to me the other day I'm the first Miles Devils junior to play in the NRL," Bateman said. "To be from a small country town, you don't realise what impact that has on the younger kids at the Devils now and the people at the club who knew me as a young kid. I want to make my family and my community proud, to be a son of Miles."

Chances are you haven't heard too much of Bateman or, if you have, most haven't put the face to the headlines.

Last year, he was the Raiders player used to promote the launch of the inaugural Auckland Nines tournament, an unknown teenage rookie in a room of NRL superstars.

He was also the player subjected to a homophobic slur in the Under 20s State of Origin match, when now Wests Tigers NRL half sensation Mitchell Moses was suspended for two weeks after on-field microphones broadcast him calling Bateman a 'f---ing gay c---'.

"A lot of people did question me and ask if you're gay, which I'm actually not," Bateman said.

"Mitch rang me after it happened and apologised. He said 'I didn't mean it, I'm sorry about that'.

"I did feel sorry for him, he was meant to debut [in the NRL] the next weekend, but he was suspended. Everyone was crying out saying this was outrageous, when I didn't really care. The NRL couldn't really do anything, their hands were tied and they had to take a stand."

But now he's made his NRL debut, best get to know the real Luke Bateman.

He's the kid signed on a scholarship by the Raiders at 12.

He was a three-time Pan Pacific swimming medallist as a 13-year-old, a Queensland representative butterfly specialist who once dreamed of being the next Michael Phelps.

But he's the kid who chose to pursue rugby league instead, packing his bags and relocating to Canberra within three days of graduating from high school.

Primarily though, he's a son of Miles, the boy of a pine logger, a country lad virtually born with calluses on his hands.

"I remember I had a game on one weekend at 3pm in the afternoon, and my old man had me on the end of a shovel digging post holes in the morning because we were building a round yard for the horses. I did that all morning, got kitted up and went into town to play my game. I was probably nine or 10 at the time. That was just how you did it, everyone chipped in."

Commonly compared with workaholic Raiders lock Shaun Fensom, Bateman's eyes are still wide with the excitement of his NRL debut. Few expected it in the season-opener, certainly not him.

Bateman's contract does not yet register him in Canberra's top-25 players and there was a full-strength squad to select from.

But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart had told Bateman early in pre-season to just rip-in, that his training ethic would determine when he was ready for the NRL.

So early last week Stuart took the 20-year-old aside during a drinks break in training and posed the question to him: "When do you think you're ready to play NRL?"

"I said I reckon I can handle it whenever you need me," Bateman recalled. "He said that's good, I'm playing you round one. We had a laugh about it a few days later, he said 'I don't know what I would have done if you'd said middle of the year'."

Raiders coaches knew he was ready last year, if needed. Bateman still qualifies for Raiders U20s, but coach Mick Mantelli doesn't expect to see much of him.

"He's not just going to be an NRL player, he could be a cornerstone of this club in the next few years," Mantelli said.

Bateman roomed with Canberra's most capped player, Dane Tilse, before his debut at Cronulla.

The oldest and youngest players in Canberra's current NRL team have a strong bond. Bateman is no certainty to retain his position against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium on Sunday, while Tilse will play his 200^th NRL game if selected.

"I'd love to have a long career, be a 200-plus gamer and be a leader here at the club," Bateman, contracted until the end of 2016, said of his ambition.

"Queensland kids, especially from the country, we love our Origin team. I'd love to play Origin one day too, before I even represented Australia."