Matt Frawley has credited his long apprenticeship in reserve grade for a strong start to his NRL career that has sparked Canterbury's three-game winning streak.
Despite coming off the bench in the past two games, Frawley has yet to taste defeat since debuting in round five and been pivotal in his team's push back into the top eight.
Frawley spent the past two seasons with the Bulldogs in the NSW Cup before finally getting his first grade shot, but the 22-year-old said it was well worth the wait.
"Looking back on it now, I'm pretty thankful that I got that two full years in NSW Cup. It's really important, especially for a half, to learn my game and understand," he said on Wednesday.
But while the Canberra Raiders junior has enjoyed early success, he remains glued to the bench as coach Des Hasler continues with Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye as his starting halves.
Having played close to 55 minutes in their past victories against Newcastle and South Sydney, Frawley admits he enters each game uncertain of how much of a role he will play.
"I think it's going to change from week to week. We don't really have a set plan, we just see how the game goes," he said.
"I'm coming on and the boys that have been playing are a bit fatigued, so I can take advantage of that, I'm obviously fresh.
"There's going to be weeks that I'm not going to get as much time and there's going to be weeks that I get more time. I just got to prepare for every situation."
Teammate Brett Morris likened Canterbury's three-pronged set of halves to when former halfback Trent Hodkinson was one of three playmakers rotated from game to game.
"We saw a similar thing happen a couple of years ago when Moses was coming through with Trent and Josh. It brings out the best in footballers," Morris said.
"Obviously you want to be out there on the paddock and to do that, you've got to be playing well. It's a good headache for Des to have."
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