It took playing on a broken leg for teenager Curtis Scott to prove to Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy he was made of stern stuff.
And now that display of stoicism could see the highly-touted 19-year-old jump the queue into the Storm No.6 jersey for next NRL season.
While it would seem the race to replace Blake Green is Cameron Munster's to lose, Bellamy reserved high praise for Scott, promising he would be a regular sight in first grade next year.
Scott made just one NRL appearance last year and lasted less than a half but made a lasting impression on the master Storm mentor.
Brought into the side at centre at the ebb of a backline injury crisis, Scott broke his fibula not long into the match but played on, thinking he had just suffered a cork.
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"He had a crack in his leg and played on for 10 minutes after that, that tells me he's made of pretty good stuff," Bellamy said.
"He's been training great, he's ultra-competitive so they're the sort of players we like here. He'll play plenty of first grade this year."
The Storm beat 11 clubs for the former Cronulla junior and Australian schoolboys representative's signature in 2015, signing him to a three-year deal.
Scott is capable of playing just about anywhere in the backline - he came through the junior ranks playing centre, was being groomed as a winger or fullback but has been standing in at No.6 during pre-season training.
Bellamy said at this stage Billy Slater, who has been restricted to just eight appearances because of injury over the last two seasons, was fighting fit and would return at fullback.
Munster was one of the team's best, filling in at No.1 for Slater, during the side's run to last year's grand final, but was not being considered for the custodian role.
Bellamy is assessing Munster, Scott, former North Queensland Cowboy Jahrome Hughes, youngster Brodie Croft and Ryley Jacks to partner Cooper Cronk in the halves.
"At this stage Billy will be playing fullback and we'll find another role for Cameron," Bellamy said.
"We are all a little bit wary but having said that, it is sort of in Billy's hands and the medical staff's hands.
"When we start testing him out a little bit more than what we have we will just go from there."
