League: Meteoric rise to Kiwis stuns Storm winger

Matt Duffie. Photo / Getty Images

The poppy Matt Duffie wore proudly on his sleeve for the first time yesterday is also a source of happy memories for the Kiwis debutant - Anzac Day will always hold a special place in his rugby league career.

Twelve months after making his first appearance in National Rugby League (NRL) in the traditional April 25 clash between the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors, the 20-year-old is contemplating a maiden test cap against the Kangaroos here on Friday night.

That realisation dawned yesterday when the Auckland-born wing suited up for the official team photo at Skilled Park, venue of the first of two transtasman tests to determine ownership of the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.

Naturally Duffie and fellow newcomer Gerard Beale have been picked on by teammates and media alike as part of their initiation yesterday - a process Duffie never dreamed of when playing for the St Kentigern's College first XV in 2008.

Soon after leaving secondary school Duffie's agent Jim Bannigan negotiated a code switch to the Storm's Toyota Cup side and after one eye-catching season in the under-20s, Craig Bellamy and his then assistant Stephen Kearney saw him as a potential first-grader.

Duffie learned of his career breakthrough hours before the Storm's salary cap scandal broke and three days later provided the club with some hope for the future when he scored a double against the Warriors.

He eventually scored eight tries in his breakthrough season and has five in five matches this year since making a belated return from injury - 13 tries in 19 games amounts to a decent strike rate.

Duffie had been identified as a potential occupant for the wing vacated by Manu Vatuvei last month but could still scarcely believe it when told of his selection after the Storm thrashed Newcastle on Saturday night.

"I watched the Four Nations (last November) on TV and never dreamed I'd be out there for the Kiwis a few months later," he said.

"I had one eye on the Four Nations (tour of the UK) at the end of the year. My long-term goal was to play for the Kiwis, to do it this early feels a bit like playing NRL last year. I didn't think it would happen so soon."

Duffie suspected his international career would be put on hold after Anzac Day 2011 turned into truly sombre occasion.

His failure to defuse a Brett Seymour bomb produced the Warriors' first try to Krisnan Inu, who continued to mount a strong case for the revival of his test career with a superb all-round display.

"I was gutted with my performance. It was a bit of a bummer dropping those high balls and I was pretty filthy on myself," he said.

Bellamy was scathing of the errors in his post-match analysis but Kearney was more forgiving even after Duffie had rejected an approach to join the Kiwis' coach at Parramatta.

Instead, Duffie re-committed to the Storm through to the end of 2014 - a decision that would not be held against him.

"Steve's not that kind of person, he said staying at the Storm would have nothing to do with it (test selection)," he said.

While Kearney was a comforting Kiwi face when he moved to Melbourne, Duffie credited assistant coach Brad Arthur with developing his game before he too headed north to Sydney's inner west and the Eels.

Playing alongside established Queensland and Kangaroos stars Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith has also been beneficial - the trio were also complimentary about their teammate's meteoric rise.

"He's a kid that's improved very fast," Cronk said.

"He's a very important part of our club these days. To represent his country at his young age will give him a lot of confidence, though hopefully not too much."

- NZPA