A backhanded compliment by South Sydney’s Sam Burgess was all Parramatta rookie Reed Mahoney needed to know he could make it in the NRL.
A massive opportunity awaits the Sunshine Coast product in the final five rounds as he gets set to answer Eels coach Brad Arthur’s SOS.
Kaysa Pritchard has been ruled out for the rest of the year after copping a dislocated shoulder in Saturday’s 26-20 loss to South Sydney.
Mahoney, 20, suddenly finds himself the club’s first-choice dummy-half, with Cameron King (knee) expected to be sidelined until round 24.
Despite having just four first-grade games under his belt, Mahoney is buoyant about his ability to handle 80 minutes and prove himself as he chases a spot in the Eels’ top 30 squad next year.
“I can definitely play 80 minutes. I’m used to playing 80 minutes, I did it through (under 20s) at the start of the year and I’m putting my best foot forward,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney was thrown into the action in just the seventh minute against the Rabbitohs and proved himself a pest all game, successfully putting South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds off his usually stellar kicking game.
“After the game Sammy Burgess came up to me and said, ‘You’re a cheeky little prick’ on the field,” Mahoney said.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, mate’. He said, ‘Good stuff’.
“I think that’s just part of my game. I like to have a bit of a laugh.
“At the end of the day, that’s why you play footy. I’m a bit cheeky off the field and I enjoy doing that sort of thing, it’s part of my game and I’m not going to stop it.”
After standing out in the Eels’ under 20s last year, the Beerwah Bulldogs junior was given a train-and-trial deal by Arthur before earning a spot on the Parramatta roster as a development player.
“I was working at the time and I got a call in a staff meeting. It was my manager. For some reason I knew I had to pick it up,” Mahoney said.
“I knew that I had a fairly good year last year in the under 20s and there wasn’t much talk about me training with the NRL squad.
“But I was happy with anything. He said, ‘Come in until Christmas and see how you go’. I just took it with both hands and Christmas turned into ‘Come back after Christmas, the new year’. The end of January, ‘Keep coming’. Then it was mid-February. Then it was ‘Have a trial match’ and I was very lucky I got given a development contract.
“It’s a good confidence boost. I didn’t even imagine myself being here six months ago.”