Canberra Raiders halfback Marc Herbert will use the meteoric rise of teammate Terry Campese as inspirationin his bid to nail down a permanent first-grade spot next season.
Campese went from fringe player to Australian five-eighth in the space of eight months this year and has now stamped himself as one of the NRL's premier playmakers.
His rapid rise in stature is something Herbert has watched with interest after he had battled with Campese for a starting position at the Raiders at the start of the season.
With Canberra's No7 jersey now his to lose, Herbert said he would use Campese's breakout season as a reference point to how quickly things can happen in rugby league.
''At the start of last year me and Campo were vying for a position,'' Herbert said.
''Then to see him progress so far and play so well is great.
''To think that he can possibly improve on the way he was playing at the end of the year with confidence from playing with the Australian team he's going to be a phenomenon next year."
"Herbert made his NRL debut in round 20 last season, following the suspension of playmaker Todd Carney.
The Raiders subsequently sacked Carney, opening the way for Herbert to play first grade for the remainder of the season.
But a knee injury robbed the 21-year-old of a chance to feature in the Raiders' finals campaign and he hoped a solid pre-season would ensure injury didn't derail his 2009 season.
''I didn't really get a chance to [nail down halfback] last year because of my injuries, so hopefully I stay injury free and can get a few games up early in the year and cement a spot,'' he said.
''I missed the last couple of games and it was disappointing considering it was starting to be a great finish to the year.
''Hopefully I'll get better about keeping myself fit.''Herbert said his five first-grade caps in 2008 had given him greater confidence that he could be an NRL regular.
He was also more confident around his teammates.
''I can already feel it around training that my confidence is higher around the boys.
''You fit in a little bit more once you've played first grade and hopefully I can just keep building on that.
''I'd been training with those guys for so long that I kind of felt like I was part of the team [but] once I played first grade I think I felt even more a part of it.''
Herbert won't have a free ride into the Raiders' No7 jersey thanks to the recruitment of former Canberra junior Josh McCrone from Penrith.
McCrone moved to the Panthers last season in search of more opportunities, but failed to break into first grade.
He hoped his return to Canberra would help him realise his dream of playing in the NRL.
But the 21-year-old was under no illusions about how hard it would be to unseat Herbert.
''Organisationally I think I'm all right and probably my running game is a bit better [than Herbert's],'' McCrone said.
''His passing game is definitely better than mine [and] he's probably a bit better at kicking. My whole game needs work, that's obviously why I'm not playing first grade.''