DAVE Waller literally hit the road when COVID-19 shut down the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union season.
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He had worked hard at Wanderers training in the pre-season to get in shape and didn't want to let it go.
It was one of the first things coach Scott Coleman noticed when the Hunter Wildfires assembled after being given the nod for the Shute Shield.
To his credit, Waller hasn't stopped working or learning.
The 26-year-old more than held his own on debut against a big and physical Northern Suburbs pack on Saturday.
"Dave is one who has really blossomed in this campaign," Coleman said. "He wants to learn. He got himself in really good shape at the start of the year and came back really fit. He is able to do live scrums at every session against the best props in Newcastle.
"You tell him to do something and he is a sponge. He just wants to learn."
"He is a pleasure to coach. I can't say enough good things about him. He came in as part of the train-on squad for experience more than anything and has pushed his way up into first grade. He made his debut against one of the Shute Shield heavyweights, held his own and got a players' player point."
Waller came into the representative program with no expectations other than "to play the best footy I could".
"I was running heaps during COVID," he said. "I thought if I was going to have a go, I would have a real go."
Waller made his first-grade NHRU debut for Wanderers in 2012 at age 18. He can also play tight head and has packed down at hooker for large chunks of last season.
"I have played all over the front row, but loose head is my preferred position," he said.
"Packing live scrums at training has been a huge help. It is similar to Wanderers training but I guess the quality is a little higher. It has been good training with Steve Lamont and Gerraint Weaver and the two Merewether props Nick Dobson and Dave Puchert. They are actually pretty good blokes."
Puchert was in strong form before missing the loss to Norths with a corked calf and is likely to return to the starting side for the visit by Gordon, with Waller to be used as fresh reserve.
"If I go back to second grade, I just want to enjoy playing footy," Waller said.
Coleman said the front-rowers had done a lot of work on their body position and "staying in the fight" at scrum time.
"We looked at his body position, mainly his height," Coleman said. "In scrums in the Newcastle comp, the ball is in and out so quick. You don't have to fight. We have been doing a lot of 30 second holds at training, which is tough. Being mentally tough and realising it's a contest. It is a chance to turn over the ball if you are not switched on."
