There is a part of Jacob Host that still can’t believe his meteoric rise to becoming an NRL player.
Host has made six appearances in first grade for his boyhood club St George Illawarra so far this season and has adjusted well to life in the top grade.
The 19-year-old was also chosen for the Junior Kangaroos earlier this season and, while the result might have been disappointing, Host lived a childhood dream when he ran out onto UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah as a first grade player against the Gold Coast Titans.
The Dragons face Canterbury at ANZ Stadium on Friday night on the back of a 25-12 loss to the Wests Tigers.
Host, who scored his maiden first grade try in the win over Newcastle in round 16, told the Leader he and his Dragons-supporting family still had to pinch themselves.
“I still remember watching Benji [Marshall] in the 2005 grand final when he carved it up and now I’m playing outside him,” he said.
“My dad still doesn’t really believe it. He’s like ‘wow, you’re playing outside Benji Marshall.’
“I’m still a little bit shy around the boys because I grew up watching a lot of them play and now I’m amongst them.
“But they’re a great bunch of blokes. Especially when I first came in Joel Thompson and Tyson Frizell really took me under their wing. The boys were so good helping me find my feet.”
The Renown United junior is also busy off the field, studying an exercise and sports science degree at the Australian Catholic University, Strathfield.
But along with his study, Host knows there is still plenty of work in front of him if he is to make the grade.
“At the start [adjusting to first grade] definitely was hard. I went into it head first [but] I didn’t really know what to expect. It takes a bit of getting used to but once I got used to it I feel like I’m doing really well now,” he said.
“I’m a lot better now than I was at the start. At the start I hardly said a word at training or anything. I was just a kid but now I feel a lot better and more confident.
“When you look up and see someone like Shaun Johnson across from you, who I was up against in my debut, you’re sort of thinking ‘don’t step me.’
“It’s no holds barred when you’re out there. When you watch them on tv and the highlights packages you see all the fancy stuff but when you’re out in the middle 85 per cent of the game is all the gritty stuff that you’ve got to get into. And that’s a real eye opener at first.”
