Titans rookie Kane Elgey has revealed how the captaincy in his final year in the under-20s inspired the confidence he has brought to the NRL and the man who gave it to him says he is already influencing the next generation of Gold Coast hopefuls.
Coming off the back of two disappointing seasons in the NYC competition in 2012 and 2013, Elgey's rugby league career was very much uncertain 12 months ago, but the faith shown in him by new coach Ben Woolf turned his fortunes around.
Although the Titans under-20s won only six games in 2014, Elgey's Player of the Year season was built on intent to be better than the opposition No.7 each and every week and a sense of responsibility that came with the captaincy.
He may have won only 18 games across three years in the NYC but Elgey's NRL winning percentage is currently sitting at 80 per cent ahead of a tough assignment against the Raiders on Saturday, a position he couldn't have imagined himself in just a short time ago.
"I was starting my 2014 season off the back of two bad years in under-20s and we had a new coach which was good, I got along with him well," Elgey said. "He gave me the captaincy for the year and I suppose it started from there, from him believing in me.
"It was late in the pre-season [that he was told of the captaincy] but he just showed belief in me and said that he wanted me to be his captain.
"I was shocked at the time, I wasn't expecting it, but he said that he needed me to lead them around because I was probably the most experienced player in the team. He showed belief and made my year a lot better."
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