Roughly 18 months ago, Seth Pearson made a momentous decision.
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The 17-year-old had played the majority of his junior rugby league career up to that point for the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters.
But sometimes, a player and a team just aren't a good fit, and Pearson never felt like he truly gelled with the tricolours. So, at the start of the 2023 season, he moved over to the North Tamworth Bears.
"A lot of my schoolmates play in this team, so it feels closer, it feels like family here," Pearson said.
"I just wasn't enjoying playing my football [at Kootingal]. But over here, I've just found my love for the game again."
Bears under 18s coach Jermain Walford was thrilled when Pearson agreed to join their ranks.
He knew that the Tamworth born-and-raised teenager possessed not only ample talent, but had the leadership ability to "organise and run a game by himself".
That's also why Walford made Pearson a member of the Bears' leadership group in 2024.
The halfback did not expect to be handed the responsibility this year, but is confident in what he brings to the side.
"Personally, I'm very straightforward," Pearson said.
"If I see someone lacking, I don't say 'Let's go boys'. I tell them, and they listen. I'm very direct."
Like many, Pearson was introduced to the game as a young child by his father, Adam, who himself played for Norths and Wests.
And while the Peel High student's dream is to play league professionally, he is not overly obsessed with pursuing representative pathways.
"I'd rather focus on my club and my team. I'd rather have me at 100 per cent for us at the moment," Pearson said.
Currently, Pearson's attention is fixed on the Bears' trial against the Woy Woy Roosters this weekend. It is the first time that a Norths 18s side will take to the field in any capacity since 2019, and he is "very nervous".
"I usually get a bit nervous before the game, it's a regular thing. But I have full faith that we can do it this year," he said.
That belief is also shared by his coach.
Walford knows that Norths have one of the youngest teams in the competition, but fully expects his side to surprise their Group 4 opposition.
"We're here to shock the competition," he said.
"We're the biggest underdogs, and the youngest team. Nobody expects us to go anywhere ... whether it's getting to the final, or getting a couple of wins under our belt and troubling some of those heavyweights, we're going to shock a lot of people."
And he expects Pearson to play a key role in their fortunes.
It's not just his versatility as a player, although Walford did say that he "plays like a second-rower, but he's got the brain and ball skills of a halfback".
No, what more impresses the coach is Pearson's hunger to learn.
"He's the most consistent, he's put in the most work, and I've got nothing but love for him because he asks a lot of questions," Walford said.
"He's one of those guys that have been consistent all season long. He's been to every session to this day, whether he's sick or got a broken bone, he's here."
