Now he could be the answer the Raiders have been looking for at hooker to realign their beat-up spine.

Born and raised in Canberra, the son of Raiders legend Simon Woolford had a junior footy career that looked destined to put him on a path to the NRL.

Since 2017 he played NSW Cup, spending two seasons at the Bulldogs and a year at the Knights, patiently plugging away with no first grade opportunity emerging.

Then the dream quickly began to fade. Footy wasn't fun anymore.

"When I wasn't re-signed by Newcastle, that was my first introduction to the real world," Woolford said. "I'd been full-time pretty much straight out of school. So that was daunting."

It was in his other passion - horse racing - where he found balance, allowing him to relish playing again, which also lifted his on-field performance.

After moving to Sydney to play for the Newtown Jets, Woolford used a recommendation from those he had known in the Canberra racing scene to get work with renowned trainer Peter Snowden.

"Working for Peter was huge for me," Woolford said.

"Before that I was probably a bit scared, but once I realised that there was something outside of footy that I could do for the rest of my life that I enjoy, it freed me up.

"I just started enjoying footy again.

"I didn't feel as much pressure that this has to work out. It's more of a privilege now. It's definitely helped me, because before then footy was all I knew."

For just over a year he was up before the sun rose each morning. He'd walk from Coogee to Randwick to be at work at 4am, helping in the stables and on the track. Then he'd go to training with the Jets.

"He needed something different from football 24-7," Snowden said, comparing Woolford to Billy Slater who similarly worked with trainer Gai Waterhouse before his NRL career took off.

"I watched Zac's old man playing for Canberra and actually saw him play as a junior. He came to work for us, and he was a really good bloke in the stables.

"He was pretty much on time every day. He was good like that ... reliable.

"It's a hard life. We had a really bad patch of rain when he was there. It rained every day for two months, so very trying conditions. He could complain about it, but he just rocked up.

"He didn't do it for the money, he just loved the animals. It's ridiculous hours, seven days a week, every day of the year, rain, hail or shine."

Snowden even had Woolford helping out with strapping on race days.

"He loves racing and he loved horses," the trainer said.

"Zac had a bit to do with Mazu early on and he's been with some better ones. I think Ranges might be his favourite horse, because he won a few with him."

Woolford was so content that last year he began to think about life without the grind of rugby league.

He revealed it was after the 2021 NSW Cup season with Newtown that he contemplated working in horse racing full-time, leaving behind his NRL aspirations.

"I was juggling whether I would come back and play again or go full steam ahead with the horses," he said.

"That's what I was thinking of doing. I decided to do both and that's worked out for me, but it's definitely my passion outside of footy."

Woolford eventually parted ways with Snowden when an opportunity emerged to leave Sydney and return to his home town with the Raiders. Snowden recalled with a laugh the moment Woolford sought advice on what to do.

"He asked me about it and I said, 'I'd grab it with both hands if I were you champ'," the trainer said.

"It was like getting a second chance. I was really happy for him and then to see him play so well, that was fantastic."

Before making his long-awaited debut on Sunday during Magic Round, Woolford's father, the former Raiders skipper affectionately nicknamed 'Germ', told The Canberra Times how he recognised the positive impact the stables work had on his son at the time.

"The great job he had with Peter Snowden helped him. Footy was not the be all and end all," Simon Woolford said.

"Since Zac was 19 it was footy, footy, footy. He wanted to be an NRL player but I think he got stuck in that. He's much more relaxed about it now."

That attitude was evident against the Sharks with the debutant thrown into the starting role without hesitation by coach Ricky Stuart, and Woolford handled the task like a seasoned pro.

He set up two tries - one in each half - working well in rotation with Tom Starling like the man he had replaced, Adam Elliott, who was a late scratching with the flu.

"The adrenaline was through the roof," Woolford said, crediting Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine for guiding him in the early stages.

"It was far and away the biggest day of my career - and my life, I reckon.

"The speed of it was incredible. The first 15 minutes were just a blur. I was blowing for a bit there, but once I got my second wind and settled in, it was just another game of footy."

The Green Machine faithful recognised shades of Woolford senior in his efforts against Cronulla, and they're already calling for the 25-year-old to become a permanent member of the NRL side.

"That's always the goal," Woolford said. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't. One step at a time, but I'd love to get to keep playing games in the NRL and stay here long-term.

"That's for people higher up than me to decide, I've just got to worry about my performance."

Woolford soaked up the momentous debut post-game as much as he could with family and friends, before emotions overflowed reflecting on the uphill journey he'd taken to get to the NRL.

"There were a lot of tears. I definitely did it the hard way. A lot of setbacks and a couple of people told me I wouldn't get here," he said.

"To [debut] for the Raiders, the club is very special to my family and it meant a lot. It was a big day I'll never forget."

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