But that hasn't stopped the gifted 20-year-old from doing some longer term planning during his down time from training in isolation due to the coronvirus pandemic.

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Hoy has declared he wants to be a Knight for life and with Ponga unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, he believes his best chance of making that happen is at five-eighth.

"Thinking long term, if I want to be here and if Kalyn is going to be staying, I want to play five-eighth because I don't want to move anywhere else," he told the Newcastle Herald.

"I want to stay in Newy and play here for the rest of my life so that is the challenge - to make a good fist of playing in the halves. I'd love to play alongside Kalyn, Pearcey [Mitchell Pearce] and even Connor [Watson] when he is at hooker - that would be pretty cool I reckon."

But first things first - he has a debut to consider in the number one jumper.

While he is odds on to get the nod to fill Ponga's boots, Hoy said he is yet to officially hear from coach Adam O'Brien about a possible debut when the season resumes.

"We haven't really been speaking to the coaches too much over this period apart from the group chats and that's just been general stuff about making sure we've all been doing the training and getting us ready for when the footy does come back," he said.

"Hopefully, Adam thinks I'm the right man to do the job and I want to make the most of the opportunity if he does."

It's common knowledge O'Brien had Hoy's name penciled in to deputise for Ponga as far back as pre-season training prior to Christmas when he was impressed with his skill level and athleticism.

But it was during the Nines tournament in Perth and subsequently in the trial against the Sydney Roosters that the coach saw Hoy's potential in the halves.

After the Roosters game, O'Brien said Hoy had "an innate ability to make things happen".

"It's a rare talent so it's something we need to work with," O'Brien said at the time. Then asked about the five-eighth spot, he said: "I guess the one that has put himself in the frame is probably Tex since the Nines."

Significantly, O'Brien requested Hoy play at five-eighth rather than fullback in the opening round of the NSW Cup early last month before it was shut down.

"Hopefully, I'm at fullback for this next round when Kalyn's out but looking longer term, the five-eighth role is what I'm going to be looking at," he said.

"I've started thinking a lot more about playing five-eighth. I've started watching a lot more video of guys in that position - Jack Wighton for one and how he plays and his style but others as well.

"But right now, I'm just keen to get back to training to be honest and pick it all back up again and hopefully get that debut."

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