It was the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment when Raiders development coach Ash Barnes knew Xavier Savage was destined for the NRL.
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The stage was the under-19s SG Ball semi-final earlier this season against Canterbury, and Savage was only a few games back from a hamstring injury.
"He scored a try against the Bulldogs for us in our semi-final, and I explained at the time that was probably the fastest I've ever seen someone on the football field," Barnes said.
"He made some quick guys look slow that day. He's lightning and you can't coach that.
"The thing about Xavier is he is coachable. All the areas that you can coach into him he's willing to learn and listen and continue to learn to get better.
"That other side of it, that speed and agility is untapped."
How fast are we talking?
In 2018 he won a Queensland 100m athletics title, running a blistering 10.95 seconds. He's most likely even faster nowadays.
The Raiders' social media department certainly had no trouble putting together a highlights package for the club's latest debutant, and it's chock full of vision showing Savage leaving clutching defenders in his wake.
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"Some of the things that he did for us were fantastic, some length of the field tries and every time he touches the ball it's quite exciting," Barnes said.
"Since we finished our season he's been straight up into the NSW Cup squad and has done a really good job there.
"He's critical on himself, he wants to get better and he wants to learn and he's willing to put in the time to do that. Rick [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] has kept a good eye on him as have the assistant coaches, he's been training with them throughout the preseason. They know what he can do."
The Sea Eagles clash will mark Savage's official debut, after his 12 minutes on the field against St George Illawarra last month were effectively stricken from the record.
Savage started the match at 18th man, and entered the fray after half-time in place of the concussed Sebastian Kris, only to be pulled off once an NRL official realised the Raiders had made an illegal substitution.
And while it was only 12 minutes on the field, Savage's illegitimate taste of NRL football has only grown his appetite to play at the top level.
"He has been excited since he had that 10 or so minutes but he handled that really well, he handled it like a real man and he understood the situation," Stuart said.
"He's actually excited at the fact he actually got the taste. That'll certainly calm some nerves, it'll be a big night for him."
For all the excitement and energy Savage is set to inject into a woefully out-of-form Raiders side, Stuart said it was still up to the more experienced campaigners to pull Canberra out of its 2021 slump.
"The new face brings a bit of new energy in regards to his debut, but we're not leaning on those younger players to create that," Stuart said.
"I'm very confident with a number of players there that they can lift the spirits, lift our energy and enthusiasm. It's always there at training, it's always there during the week.
"We've got to create the enthusiasm around him, for him to enjoy his game. It'll be just great to see him get his opportunity now in what we see as his real first grade debut, more so than the last episode."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
