Tom Matthewson will soon sit his HSC exams and exit Farrer and enter a new phase of his life, his high school days slowly but surely obscured by the fog of time.
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So here is something that will not easily be dulled by the passing years; something he can look back on with pride and as testament to the young man he became as he negotiated adolescence.
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Back at Farrer as the school's Indigenous liaison officer and assistant rugby league coach, Learoyd-Lahrs singled out Matthewson, a strapping centre, for special mention ahead of the Farrer First XIII's NRL Schoolboy Cup clash against St Edward's College, Gosford at John Simpson Oval this month.
Farrer lost the match after a 90-metre intercept try late in the match, bringing a heartbreaking conclusion to the Farrer rugby league journey for Matthewson and his fellow year 12 teammates.
Learoyd-Lahrs said it was a journey Matthewson should be proud of - and not just because of his development as a footballer.
"On a personal note," he said, "being part of this First XIII system, and I hope he doesn't mind me saying it, but he's probably been a little bit of a rogue at times in his younger years, but he's turned a fair corner.
"His attitude is outstanding - his effort on the footy field and in class and around the place: he's a real success story for the football program out there, just in terms of someone wanting to make a change and have red-hot crack."
As a rugby league talent, Matthewson "surprised" Learoyd-Lahrs with "his training and just his general natural football attributes".
He said a number of Matthewson's Farrer teammates would have a more extensive rugby league resume than him. "But he's one young bloke I think could build one for himself pretty quickly."
He was, Learoyd-Lahrs added, a "genuine footballer" - "big, strong, raw-boned ... runs great lines".
