Little more than two years ago, Moree's Jock Brazel was suiting up for the Boars in the Group 19 under-18 finals series.
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Now he has trained alongside up-and-coming NRL talent like Jason Saab, Josh Schuster, Haumole Olakau'atu and Joseph Suaalii as potentially a future NSW Blue.
The 18-year-old took part in a two-day camp at the NSW Rugby League Centre of Excellence at Sydney's Olympic Park as part of the Emerging Blues squad.
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NSW Origin coach Brad Fittler ran the camp with help from NRL greats Greg Alexander and Paul McGregor.
"It was incredible," Brazel said.
"To be able to go into camp with such talented players and coaching staff was something I got a lot out of and will never forget.
"Learning from players that are playing NRL currently and players that have done it all, in the likes of Boyd Cordner and Andrew Johns, was truly humbling.
"Such incredible coaching staff allowed for me to develop my game further and take my off-field life to another level as well.
"It was definitely up there with the highest level of training I have done, as everything was completed with such quality."
Brazel is currently training with Parramatta's under-21 Jersey Flegg team for the 2022 season and recently re-signed with the club until the end of 2024.
He was also chosen in the Australian Schoolboys merit team in the second-row when the side was announced earlier in the year.
Brazel admitted he still had to pinch himself when he considered how far he had come.
He said he was "very grateful" to the people who had helped him in his career including his coaches, friends and "definitely" his family.
"[I] definitely wouldn't be where I am today without those people."
Fittler's methods of meditation and breathing have been well documented and Brazel was able to learn that aspect of training at the camp.
"Being able to take part in activities like breathing and earthing was pretty cool and interesting," he said.
"Especially learning about the benefits it really has."
The camp was staged on the weekend. It has since been revealed that there was a positive COVID result among the camp's participants, who were told to self-isolate.
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