Less than three years after he failed to make his school First XV, Dane Zander has packed down in Super Rugby, holding his own against a veteran Wallabies prop.
Plenty of Reds players have progressed through renowned rugby nursery Nudgee College and on to Super Rugby.
But Zander was not among the best front-rowers when at school, missing the firsts and even turning out occasionally in the thirds for Nudgee.
His love of rugby kept him in the game though and after playing colts for Norths straight out of school, Zander made his Premier Rugby debut in 2018 before playing a full season in the top grade last year and progressing to NRC where he caught the eye of Queensland scrum doctor Cameron Lillicrap.
The man known as "Crapper" has a knack for spying potential - as he did with Feao Fotuaika in 2018 ahead of his transformation into a Super Rugby prop.
Like Fotuaika before him, Zander was summoned to a meeting with Lillicrap and head coach Brad Thorn, who offered a proposal.
"After NRC I had a meeting with Thorny and Crapper and they said, you have an opportunity, but they just wanted me to drop a bit of weight," Zander said.
"Same sort of thing as Feao. They used that as an example, they said: 'This happened to Feao, he came in and did the hard work and that's what could happen to you if you do the hard work.'
"Thorny was just like, 'You've got the talent, we just want to fix some things' and that's when I just wanted to put my head down and do the best I could and get my opportunity. They were giving me an opportunity, so I didn't really want to waste it."
It was too good a chance for the lifelong Reds fan to pass up.
"It's always been my dream since I've been a little kid," Zander said of being a Red.
"I still remember coming to the games when I was only five or six and I always wanted to be a Red, so it's an amazing feeling."
The 20-year-old has dropped almost 10kg since the end of the NRC season and came off the bench for his debut against the Brumbies on Friday night at 121kg.
He put every ounce of that to work in 31 minutes against former Reds skipper James Slipper, holding his own in the scrum to earn the praise of captain Liam Wright.
"I thought our fishers came on a did quite a good job," Wright said of the Reds' narrow loss to the Brumbies.
"Dane Zander against Slips (Slipper) performed really well and held his own in the scrum and got us some key ball when we needed him to."
With JP Smith having undergone pre-season surgery and missing both trials and fellow loosehead Harry Hoopert out with a back injury, Zander had played 60 minutes in each of the Reds' pre-season fixtures against the Rebels and Waratahs and headed into his debut high on confidence.
"It was definitely a dream come true. For me to run out on that field and get my first cap was amazing," said Zander, whose parents Gordon and Chris watched from the stands in a sweltering GIO Stadium.
"It was really good that JP (Smith) and Nela (Tupou) set the benchmark. They dominated our scrum from the start and me and (Fotuaika) came on we just tried to do our part and our job."
Now on tour with the Reds in Africa, Zander is likely to gain a second cap this weekend against the Lions, where he could come up against veteran South African prop Jannie du Plessis.
After a stint with Montpellier in the Top 14, du Plessis - who won 70 caps for the Springboks - is back in Super Rugby and would provide an enormous test for Zander.
But don't bet against the young buck.
"I thought I've developed my scrummaging a lot, especially in NRC under Cameron Lillicrap I've learnt a heap off him and also playing with Ruan Smith and JP Smith too," he said.
"And in defence, just trying to be as aggressive as I could."
For a player who only completed his first full season in the Brisbane Premier grade less than a year ago, it's still a little surreal.
"It's been quick. It has surprised me a little bit. But I'm so stoked to be here," Zander said.
"If you don't play First XV or Australian Schoolboys, it doesn't matter. As long as you just try and keep chipping away, you never know what can happen."
The Reds take on the Lions at Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg, on Sunday, February 9, kicking off at 12:05am AEDT and broadcast LIVE on Sport Sports, Kayo and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
