Newcastle Knight Nathan Ross may have reached a long-held dream, to gain a two-year contract extension, but the enthusiastic utility back vows he has no plans to rest on his laurels.
He’s already started to set more ambitious goals as he embarks on a long-term future in the red and blue.
The 27-year-old this week signed a contract extension, which will keep him at the Knights until at least 2018.
“It’s a massive weight off my shoulders and has lit a bigger fire in me to shoot for some bigger dreams now and to keep the ball rolling,” he said on Monday.
“Now that I have signed for two years, it’s a process of setting some new individual goals and reaching them.
“I’m not going to rest on my laurels, that’s for sure.”
While Ross says he’s focused on being the best he can be on a consistent basis, he’s excited to build a bigger legacy as a Newcastle Knight.
“I want to play 50 NRL games and want to get representative honours at some stage,” he said.
“In order to get that, I know it’s going to be a hard road ahead, and people may say it’s a little bit ambitions, but it was pretty ambitious a couple of years ago to set my sights on playing in the NRL and getting a fulltime contract.
“If I set my sights high enough I should be able to reach them with the right dedication.”
While Ross injured his hamstring 23 minutes into the Knights’ match against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Saturday and didn’t return to the field, he was optimistic on Monday he’d be cleared to play again this weekend.
“It’s not feeling too bad. I’m just waiting on some scan results,” he said.
The Knights now prepare to take on the Penrith Panthers on Sunday at Hunter Stadium.
