in pre-season. That was it," Verrills told NRL.com.

"And I still remember it, the first day Coops came back in pre-season and I had to pass him the ball.

Roosters players want to send out Cronk a winner

"The ball's just gone straight at his feet, it was a shocker I was just that nervous about it. I realised straight away I had to switch it on a bit."

A quiet word from Cronk before Verrills' debut against Melbourne in round six – the grand final re-match if you don’t mind – helped put the youngster at ease around rep stars James Tedesco, Luke Keary and Latrell Mitchell.

So too Trent Robinson's faith to start him at No.9 in Friend's absence, keeping Victor Radley in his preferred lock position even with previous successreally big for me and I'm loving every minute in the NRL."

Not least his most recent one.

The Roosters may have already cracked the half-century in Sunday's demolition of the Gold Coast, but Verrills still had work to do in the 80th minute, as Luke Keary's pre-game taunt rung in his ears.

Hitting, spinning and wrestling through a few defenders, Verrills' first NRL try had the youngster all smiles as the siren sounded.

Match Highlights: Roosters v Titans

"I was carrying on a bit but it was awesome to get my first try and get that monkey off my back," Verrills said.

"Kez had been into me about the nudie run at the end of the year if you don't score so that was in the back of my mind, I needed to