Jhett Butler in midst of breakout year at Newcastle Knights

In January, the Newcastle Knights' Jersey Flegg coach Tony Gleeson invited the former Farrer student to join his squad for pre-season training.

It was the break the 21-year-old was after.

"I only had a short pre-season," Butler said, adding: "Every minute counted with training and trial games. So I just went in and ripped in and had a really good go."

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"I was pretty lucky it came my way," he continued. "I've got the starting spot now, and I'm playing each week - which is good."

At HE Laybutt Field in Sydney on Saturday, Butler will play centre for sixth-placed Newcastle in a Jersey Flegg clash against Manly. Newcastle's No 7 is Mitch Henderson, Butler's former Farrer and Northern Tigers teammate.

It will be Butler's second straight game in the starting side, after he was named on the bench in the opening two games of the season.

It will also be another chance for him to shine as he chases his first Knights contract - three years after he moved from Tamworth to Newcastle to chase his NRL dream.

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"I'm really keen to see where this season goes with me, going forward," said the concrete finisher, who played second-row in a last-start 24-12 win over the Raiders.

"I'm really excited," he said, adding that the season had "started off really well". "And I'm all positive and all happy about it."

Butler began the 2020 season playing for the Knights' SG Ball side, but then COVID hit and the competition was cancelled. The following year, he did his hamstring but returned to play a number of SG Ball games to close out the season.

Ahead of the 2022 season, he did a full pre-season with the Knights' Jersey Flegg squad but did not play a game.

Instead, the former Dungowan Cowboy returned to the Souths Mereweather Lions and made his first-grade debut there.

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"I took it in my stride," he said of his Knights disappointment last year, "and went back to the local comp and put my best foot forward there and come through it."

By Butler's side throughout this seminal period in his life has been his longtime partner, Gabrielle Hathway. The couple live together, with Hathway - a Calrossy alumnus - in the final year of her physiotherapy degree at the University of Newcastle.

"We're going really good together,' Butler said. "It's all pretty exciting."

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