KEY POINTS:
Teenage second rower Ben Matulino is still pinching himself.
Twelve months ago, his involvement in the NRL playoffs was watching the New Zealand Warriors on television in a Wellington pub.
Now he finds himself a regular starter for the same team, who are just one match away from a grand final.
"I still can't believe it, it still feels like a dream," he said. "The emotions are sort of mixed. I'm a little bit nervous but also pretty excited to be in the finals."
Matulino, 19, began the year battling for a spot in the Junior Warriors starting line-up for the inaugural under-20 National Youth Cup competition.
"It was one of my goals to play first grade but, realistically, I was aiming for next year," he said.
However, come mid-June, coach Ivan Cleary called him up to make his first appearance off the bench away to Cronulla.
"There were a couple of injuries and I was called in as back-up and it's gone on from there."
Matulino has stayed in the first-grade XVII ever since, progressing to the starting 13 in the return match against the Sharks last month.
In the preliminary final against Manly in Sydney on Saturday night, he will again partner Simon Mannering in the second row.
Matulino switched from rugby union to league at 16, because of a lack of game time as a No 8 with St Bernard's College first XV in Lower Hutt.
He was signed by the Warriors two years ago and moved to Auckland at the end of last year.
In his 14 NRL appearances, Matulino has impressed as a strong runner with good ball security.
"Ivan has told me to keep it simple and play my own game, don't play someone else's," he said.
- NZPA
