Rising Canberra Raiders star Nick Cotric will swap school exams for a stage in front of a sold-out Canberra Stadium on Saturday as the junior Green Machine fight to stay alive in the under-20s finals.
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Cotric has enjoyed a boom rise in his last year at high school and has signed an NRL contract for the 2017 season.
The 17-year-old Erindale College student has spent most of the week studying for his final school exams.
But at the back of his mind is the under-20s showdown with the Sydney Roosters, the curtain-raiser for the NRL qualifying final.
"This is huge ... playing in front of that many people is going to be great, usually there is only a few people watching us," Cotric said.
"We're very proud that we get to run out before the NRL finals and it's a big boost for us. We're lucky they finished second and got a home semi-final.
"Hearing that roar will be exciting times."
The Raiders have a history of producing NRL talent through their junior system. It wasn't that long ago that Jarrod Croker, Josh Dugan and Shaun Fensom played in the under-20 premiership-winning side.
Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton also burst on to the main stage via the under-20s.
Cotric hopes to follow their path into the NRL, but the shy teenager could enjoy a faster rise when he joins the Raiders' full-time squad next year.
Cotric has played in the Australian schoolboys and in the under-18 NSW State of Origin side. His form also earned him a spot in the under-20 team of the year and now he wants finals success.
The Raiders finished eighth on the under-20 ladder and will play the fifth-placed Roosters in the opening week of the play-offs.
The Roosters finished one win ahead of the Raiders on the ladder, but the match will be played in the capital because Canberra's NRL side earned the right to a home final.
"It's been a great season and I've been lucky enough to be in all of those teams," Cotric said.
"At the start of the year I just wanted to play for the Raiders and that was it. A few games into the year everyone just started clicking and things started happening.
"It escalated pretty quick ... you pick up little things and little details along the way that help you."
NRL UNDER-20s
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at Canberra Stadium, 2.55pm.
