Despite being faced with the one of the most daunting tasks in the NRL, St George Illawarra teenage rookie Zac Lomax is refusing to be overawed.
With just 166 minutes of NRL experience under his belt, the Temora product could find himself marking up on South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis during Saturday's semi-final at ANZ Stadium.
Lomax showed he was a player of considerable potential during last Sunday's win over Brisbane, and has again been named in the centres with Euan Aitken racing the clock to recover from a hamstring injury.
Even if Aitken is passed fit, Dragons coach Paul McGregor has a conundrum on his hands regarding Lomax because Gareth Widdop's season-ending shoulder injury leaves without a recognised goal-kicker in his 17.
Tim Lafai (16 from 24 attempts) and Ben Hunt (25 from 37) have both kicked intermittently throughout their careers whereas Lomax is comfortable with the role.
One might imagine Lomax would be overwhelmed given he grew up with an Inglis poster on his wall, but the calm and collected rookie was taking it all in his stride.
"I try and do my job for the team and you've got to take the metres away from GI," Lomax said.
"He's a very powerful player. If I do get the nod, I'll try to do my best for the team."
After just three NRL games, and two as a starting player, Lomax is faced with playing a key role as the Dragons seek to keep their premiership hopes alive in a do-or-die clash.
The 18-year-old said he wasn't overwhelmed by his first taste of finals football against the Broncos, saying his more experienced teammates kept him level-headed.
"It was a good feeling, I had heaps of fun out there," Lomax said.
"To have all my family come up and win by a good margin was a good feeling as well.
"There's so many experienced players there that have played finals footy.
"To communicate with them before the game, they took a lot of pressure off me. To have them in your ear to get you wound up for the game is a good feeling."
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