With goal posts in her backyard and a fence post she'd spend hours throwing a ball at, a la Don Bradman and his cricket stump, Waratahs young gun Caitlyn Halse was destined to become a star rugby player; and just three games into her top-flight rugby career, she's caught the Australian rugby public's attention.
At 16 years and 187 days old, Halse made history as the youngest player to debut in Super W when she ran out for the Waratahs in the season opener -- breaking James O'Connor's longstanding record of being the youngest Super Rugby debutant at 17 in the process. The fullback made an impression early with her vision, booming boot and elusive ball running, and she's only getting better.
Building as the season progresses, a brilliant individual try-scoring effort in round 2 -- her first Super W try -- even caught the eye of former Wallaby Tim Horan, with the Australian rugby legend calling for her to go straight into the Wallaroos squad while she's in contention to make her Youth Commonwealth Games debut later this year.
Like many young female rugby players Halse was inspired by the heroics of the Australian women's sevens team that won the first Olympic sevens gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, but even before the 2016 Games in Brazil she had several seasons of rugby and league under her belt.
Pulling on the Picton Magpies rugby league uniform at six years old before joining the Camden Rams rugby team two years later, Halse faced plenty of criticism from the young boys she played against. To curb the comments, her parents often hid her pigtails under her head gear.
Two years after taking on the 15-player code, and at just 10 years old, Halse had fallen in love with the game and wouldn't be turning back, instead setting her sights on becoming the best player she could be.
"The reason I started playing union was because of my dad," Halse told ESPN. "When I was growing up, every Saturday I would go out and watch his games for the whole day, that's what made me want to play union. But I always grew up with a ball in my hand from a young age that just encouraged me to give it a go.
"Watching the Rio Olympics, the sevens girls winning gold made me love it more and it was like a moment in time where I thought that playing rugby professionally could be an option."
Crediting her dad for her pin-point kicking after he erected two goals posts in the family backyard for her to practise, she also used chalk to draw the figure of a person on the back fence where she would spend hours after school repeatedly throwing the ball, perfecting her spiral pass that has garnered so much attention over the past three weeks.
"I always want to give 110%, whether that's during pre-season, during training with the team, or by myself; I always set a goal to give 110% to the game and to training.
"When I was younger, my dad set up some footy posts for me, and when I was about 10 years old, I drew a human figure with some chalk on the back fence and every day for hours and hours I'd just stand outside and pass the ball to it, rep after rep, trying to get better.
"So, yeah, I have to thank my dad for all that; it's definitely helped me become the player I am today."
Calls have already been made to sign the 16-year-old on a long-term deal to Rugby Australia and the Waratahs, to keep rival code NRL away. The threat of poaching is ever present, with former Wallaroos and Waratahs wing Mahalia Murphy joining former sevens stars Emma Tonegato and Evania Pelite in the NRLW competition, but Halse has no intention of leaving rugby.
"Definitely not [thinking of playing NRLW]," Halse told ESPN. "Yeah, no way I'm gonna leave rugby union for league.
"Playing for the Wallaroos is what I'm focusing on. Getting better and better and hopefully one day pulling on the gold for the Wallaroos, that's the dream.
"Playing in the Olympics is still a dream. I'm in contention for the Youth Commonwealth Games sevens team, so playing in the Australian sevens is still a dream but I guess it depends on what happens with 15s and how far I can go there."
With all eyes on her after another impressive performance in the Waratahs' grand final redemption win over Fijiana Drua, expectations and attention will only rise for the 16-year-old.
"I don't know [how I deal with the attention]," Halse said. "I'm just trying not to let it get to my head. I just keep playing the game that I know and then, yeah, whatever happens from there happens."
Juggling school and Super W commitments, the year 11 Magdalene Catholic College student spends the 80-minute car trips from school to training at Daceyville studying; she could also be spotted on the Waratahs team bus on the way to their Round 2 game in Canberra finishing up assignments on her laptop with the help of several of her teammates.
PDHPE and maths are two of her favourite subjects, with the fullback telling ESPN she likes the certainty in maths, that there can only be one answer, which somewhat counters the freedom with which she loves to play her rugby.
Returning to school on Monday morning after her debut and breakout game against the Brumbies, the following week brought her back down to earth but the support from friends, schoolmates and teachers has made the transition easier.
"All the school kids and all my friends always come up to me telling me that I played well, especially my teachers," she said.
"My year coordinator always sends out a big text message or videos of me playing to everyone in the staff room, and I always have teachers congratulating me. They all been really supportive."
Garnering attention before she even hit the national stage, a 10-year-old Halse said in an interview with the local newspaper that "girls are just as skilled as boys"; the Waratahs' newest star says it still rings true today.
"Yeah, it's definitely still true, girls are just as good as boys, "Halse told ESPN. "I reckon all girls that want to play, just give it a go. Just give it a go, give it your best effort. Anyone can play the game, no matter how big or small you are."