The boom ACT Brumbies rookie signed a two-year contract extension on Friday, which also included a Wallabies top-up payment and helped him take another another step towards his Test debut.

It also comes with pressure and expectation for a 20-year-old kid who has played just seven Super Rugby games. Valetini's rise has been halted by knee injuries last year and he had to be helped from the field in the Brumbies' win against NSW on Friday night.

But if Manueli Valetini taught his son anything, it was to never take opportunity for granted.

That message was clear when Valetini and his brothers would listen to their dad's rugby stories on 5am train rides across Melbourne just to get to their junior games.

It's the reason why Valetini is grateful every time he steps on to the Brumbies' team bus, because that's the exact place Manueli's international dream ended before it even started.

"Seeing where dad came from, a tough place in Fiji, to play rugby and to get to Australia as well, I do look up to him," Valetini said.

"I would always hear him on the sidelines when I was younger, he went through hardship to make a better life for us. I'm definitely grateful for that. He and mum are definitely an inspiration."

Manueli Valetini and brother Osea Koliloa were rugby stars in Fiji. Manueli, who played with Tevita Kuridrani's dad in Lautoka, was picked to make his Test debut on a tour of Tonga.

He packed his bags and was about to step on to the bus when the police tapped him on the shoulder. That was the moment Manueli's past caught up with him, prevented from touring because of his police record.

The good to come of it was a lesson Manueli could pass on to his children to make sure they didn't make the same mistakes.

"I do regret it," Manueli said. "It was a shame I never got to play for Fiji. But it was a good lesson to pass on."

The story has been retold over the years. First on the early-morning train trips and then again when the Valetini brothers crammed into the back seat of the family's only car for the Saturday morning rugby mission.

"It has definitely stuck with me," Rob Valetini says. "He told us to never take things for granted, to make the right decisions in life because it can affect your future."

So that's the approach Valetini is taking to his own career as he attempts to launch himself on to the Wallabies radar for World Cup selection later this year.

He is regarded as the next big thing in Australian rugby. A powerfully-built back-rower who can be a midfield wrecking ball and a defensive beast.

But in many ways, Valetini is still a boy who wrote a note when he was 12 years old detailing his dreams of one day playing for Australia.

Manueli and wife Finau recently found the note again when cleaning the garage, moving it to a safe box underneath their bed as a keepsake for the start of their son's journey.

"The boys couldn't wait to get to the games when they were younger. They were ready and in their sports gear the Friday night before they would play. They'd kick the ball around the footpath on the way.

"Rob was a different one, he just always wanted to play rugby. He just loved rugby. Even at training they'd tell him to take it easy, but he wanted to train how he played.

"We've always encouraged him to play hard. I think Robert is very blessed, I told him to go for it [at the Brumbies]. He's in good hands.

His size and skill put him on the Brumbies radar when he was still at high school, making him just the second forward in Australian Super Rugby history to sign a full-time contract while still studying.

But the chance to chase a dream also meant having to leave the comfort of home to move to Canberra.

Valetini was happy to bash into men, some double his age, at Brumbies training. But he didn't know anyone in the capital, didn't have a licence to drive and didn't know how to cook or wash his clothes.

So the Brumbies' senior players stepped in. Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight and Christian Lealiifano offered lifts and Valetini eventually moved in with Lolo Fakaosilea and Folau Faingaa.

"I knew it was going to be hard at the start leaving my family. I'm proud of where I've come from," Valetini said.

"I didn't have that mother and father figure to help out with things like laundry, cleaning up for yourself and get around to places, but the guys offered to give me lifts and that made me comfortable.

"Now Canberra feels like home. That's why I signed a new contract here because I can't picture myself playing anywhere else if I'm playing rugby in Australia."

Manueli says Valetini has been big since he was a child, either hiding chocolate wrappers under his bed or banging pots and pans in the middle of the night for a snack.

His size made him stand out in the junior national ranks and he looked at home in his debut Super Rugby season last year, but two knee injuries limited him to just three games.

The Wallabies decided he was worth a risk and took the rising star on a spring tour of Europe as a development player with an eye to give him a taste of the Test arena before the World Cup this year.

Valetini, though, knows he faces a significant challenge just to get game time at the Brumbies. He's competing against David Pocock, Pete Samu, Lachlan McCaffrey and Tom Cusack for selection.

"It was good to be with the Wallabies and seeing what that side of rugby is like," Valetini said.

"I'm not as nervous as what I thought I would be this year. I'm quite confident in myself and my knee as well. I'm excited to play more rugby this year."

Valetini's rise is no surprise to his family. Rugby is in his blood. Manueli played for a western Fiji side against a group of Wallabies legends, including Simon Poidevin. Manueli's brother, Osea Koliloa, played three Tests for Fiji in 1986.

The brothers, both back-rowers, moved to Melbourne in 1988 when they were recruited by Melbourne side Harlequins, with the club describing the duo as "great servants" who played more than 100 first grade games each.

But the baton has been passed to Rob Valetini, who knew he wanted to play for the Wallabies when he was in year 6. Back then, his 'I want to achieve' assignment goals were simple: "When I grow up I want to play for Australia in rugby."

Eight years later Valetini is establishing himself as a Super Rugby star and appears destined to play for the Wallabies this year.

"I want to play at the highest level. For me, it's just about having the confidence in myself to get better. Hopefully one day I get to play for Australia," Valetini said.