Some "special" tips from Wests Tigers great Robbie Farah gave Harry Grant an unexpected boost before his debut in Saturday's win over Cronulla.
Grant, who joined the Tigers via the Melbourne Storm on a unique one-year swap arrangement with centre Paul Momirovski, admitted he was "very nervous" at the start of the week.
But he looked comfortable from the outset at Bankwest Stadium, scoring an early try, tallying 46 tackles and providing slick dummy-half service in a 55-minute shift.
Grant said he had "rung around" to get advice off the likes of his Storm development coach Ryan Hinchcliffe in the days before the game.
But it was an "out of the blue" text from Farah, who retired after last season after having made the black, gold and white No.9 his own for much of the last decade, that further put the 22-year-old hooker's mind at ease.
Match Highlights: Sharks v Wests Tigers
"He wished me all the best and it was pretty special for me. I asked him for a bit of advice and he gave me a little bit," said Grant, who has now played three NRL games.
"I hadn't had much to do with him. It was very special for me that he reached out and wished me all the best and gave me a few pointers that I definitely took on board and carried into the game.
"Now that I've got that little relationship with Robbie and he's reached out, I'm very keen to work with him and hopefully build my game and develop a lot off the back of his help."
Grant roaring already for Wests Tigers
Grant said he tried to simplify his role in the 28-16 victory as he adjusted to the new six-again rule.
"I think it's definitely a running game [that benefits] dummy halves, fullbacks, faster players through the middle," said Grant, who ran for 55 metres.
"On the flipside it's very hard defensively. You definitely gas out pretty easily. But it's probably going to be exciting times for the fans and the game going forward."
After Grant set the platform, interchange hooker Billy Walters brought punch to the Tigers' attack when he was injected into the fray in the second half.
Grant is happy to continue working in tandem with Walters.
"Billy's got a dynamic running game … Hopefully, we can build a little combo where we complement each other," Grant said.
Coach Michael Maguire lauded Walters's impact in the second half.
"In the first two games of the season, Billy sort of showed what he can do at dummy-half and with a little bit of fatigue around the middles, Billy showed what he's capable of when he gets out," Maguire said.
"He came out, took off and was able to create a little bit more momentum, which allowed us to capitalise which obviously got the tries."
