Still only 21 years of age, utility back Jake Mamo returned to training this week full of excitement to take part in his third NRL pre-season.
With so many young prospects joining the NRL squad for the first time, Mamo feels he has the experience to help them out.
Bradie Smith, Daniel and Jacob Saifiti, Bryce Donovan, Josh King, Brock Lamb and Jack Cogger are among the group stepping up to an NRL pre-season.
Mamo has played with nearly all of them in the Under 20s competition and can appreciate the difficulties of the challenge ahead.
“This is my third season and there’s a lot of 18 and 19 year-old guys in this team now,” Mamo told Knights TV.
“So I suppose I can act as a bit of a mentor for those guys even, because I have been here for a couple of years more than they have.”
It’s a new phase for Mamo in his career – with 16 NRL games and six tries to his name he is no longer the wide-eyed youth that showed up for his first pre-season in 2013.
“I do feel a fair bit of extra confidence coming into this pre-season after being around the guys for a while,” the speedster admits.
“My focus for this pre-season is to just get as fit as I can, learn as much as I can and then hopefully secure a starting spot in Round 1.”
The first week back training has been as hard as ever, but Mamo can see the bright side.
“I’m settling in alright, it’s obviously been a bit tough on the body in the first couple of days," he said.
“But it’s great to be back out here with my mates and what better job than running around in the sun with all your friends.”
Click HERE to see Mamo's 2015 video highlights and stats.