Up until last weekend, Queensland Under 18 captain David Fifita had never met Greg Inglis.
But he was left humbled when the State of Origin captain and NRL great delivered some advice and encouragement ahead of Wednesday night's big MCG clash in Melbourne with NSW Under 18.
The 107kg Fifita attracted considerable attention from NRL clubs scrambling for his signature before signing with the Brisbane Broncos until 2020.
He is still earning rave reviews playing with Souths Logan Magpies - the Brisbane club which produced a galaxy of stars headed by Mal Meninga, Peter Jackson, Bob Lindner, Gary Belcher, Greg and Mick Veivers - and the game's most successful coach, Wayne Bennett.
Asked what advice he would advise young Fifita, Queensland's new captain said: "He should shut out all the hype and just enjoy his football and have fun".
"Put the raps aside, play his own brand of football – the type of football he likes to play.
And his final tip: "Listen to your coach."
Like Inglis, Fifita is very proud of his Indigenous heritage.
He is also immensely honoured to be captain of the Queensland Under 18 side, which is seeking revenge following a narrow two- point loss last year to the Blues.
Inglis and Fifita matched up on the same side of the field at Sunday's opposed session on the Gold Coast, the last run before both representative teams headed south to Melbourne.
The young buck was blown away that Inglis would offer advice to him.
"I am a softie on the inside sometimes," the powerfully built forward said.
"It's great that Greg would take the time out to pass on that advice and I appreciate it a lot.
"It (captaincy) means a lot to me. It's something I have always wanted to do, lead the boys out for Queensland."
"We have heaps of leaders in this team and they could have picked any one of them to be captain.
"Richo (coach Kurt Richards) telephoned me and spoke to me about the group of players and staff and what we could do.
"He offered me the captaincy. I thanked him and assured him I wouldn't let him down.
"It (captaincy) hasn't really sunk in yet, that will probably happen once we start training
"But to represent my family and my culture is a massive honour for me and an experience I will cherish forever."
A resident of Bellbird Park near Ipswich, but graduate of the highly successful Keebra Park High system, Fifita has been playing league since he was five.
But until a few years ago when he played for Queensland Under16s he had not experienced the adrenalin-pumping excitement of being at an Origin game live.
Representing the Australian Schoolboys last year and winning both Test matches in New Zealand against the Kiwis (he scored three tries) has been the highlight of his career so far.
In a few short years, representing Queensland and the Australian Schoolboys at international level, Fifita has become one of most exciting young teenage talents going around.
He was chased by NRL clubs who saw him as a future star, including Cronulla.
However, he elected to stay with the Broncos in honour of his grandad, William Waria, born in the Torres Strait.
"Unfortunately Grandad passed away last year and never got the chance to see me play for Broncos, but he loved the club and always wanted me to play for them," Fifita said.
Fifita belives there may be a distant family connection with Cronulla twins Andrew and David Fifita, who had become good friends in recent years.
The first thing you notice about Fifita is his impressive physique
He starred for South Logan Magpies in the club's win over the previously unbeaten Norths Devils in the grand final of the Mal Meninga Colts Cup last month.
Despite all the hype coming his way, young Fifita has managed to keep his considerably large feet on the ground, focusing on getting his mind and body where they need to be to play NRL football.
"I'm in no rush, I just want to get my body right," he said.
"I'm still only 18 and my body is still growing.
"I don't want to play NRL before I am ready and end up like Payne (18-year-old Broncos Payne Haas, who suffered a serious shoulder injury) after playing a few games."
Look out when he gets there, because this kid is special.
