Arguably better-known locally for his prowess on the rugby league field, as Captain of the under 16s Gunnedah Bulldogs, Many would however remember Kalin sweeping the dance floor, from the age of seven, at the Gunnedah Eisteddfod.

‘’I came from the Gold Coast and went in my first eisteddfod when I first came here and I didn’t really know anyone,’’ Kalin said.

“Winning most of the sections, the girls got a bit cranky about it. And in Year 3 it’s like the world has ended if something bad goes wrong, so I didn’t have many friends after that.’’

Dancing has certainly never been the easy path, but then, as his mother Linda Gallagher says, Kalin has never been one to shy from a challenge.

“From an early age, he never liked to lose, he’s always been very compettive,” she said.

“Whatever he competed in [he] always did it to the best of his ability.

And I guess [he has] always liked music and art and things like that as well as footy.”

She said she was surprised, when Kalin, at the age of four, begged her to take dancing lessons.

Eventually she relented and sent him off to ballet lessons, with the young boy alone in a studio full of little girls and tutus.

When, as a single parent, she could no longer afford his lessons, she cleaned the studio after hours to pay for his tuition.

Kalin did relent to peer pressure and took a short break, but when the opportunity arose again, he never looked back.

“I did stop a bit, because of the bullying... and there weren’t any teachers out here,” he said.

He credits his former high school arts teacher,  who was also a dance instructor, for getting him back into the sport, then local dance school Totally Dance Studios for upping the ante.

“My arts teacher asked me if I wanted to come and do dancing as a sport at school, so I said ok ... and I started to like it again,” he said.

“Then she moved, but I went along to my new school and they were really serious.

“At the start it was a bit confrontational, but then I started to relax and enjoy it and I just love it now.”

“Totally Dance Studios instructor Angela Denman said “you could just see Kalin had so much potential, when he walked through the door”.

“Up until 18 months ago he had only been doing it as a hobby, but in the past 12 months especially, he became really serious about it.

“He’s taken on all the advanced performance classes he can and is training at a much higher level.

“And we’re now at the point where he can start auditioning and I think things are really going to start happening for him.”

At the same time, Kalin started playing rugby league for “mateship” and while he’s had to face a little extra opposition due to his dancing interests, those skills have also helped him on the field.

Recently, a group of boys on the other team ripped his head gear off during a game.

“I scored and they’re like, ‘He’s a dancer, he’s a dancer. Smash him’,” Kalin said.

But as Captain of his team, Kalin is not easily rattled – playing with an ankle injury in the grand final game on Sunday, Kalin was still voted best and fairest by his team mates.

Under 16s coach Wayne Griffiths said he has the potential to play one day professionally and others think so too – Kalin is also a rare NSW veteran of the Broncos training camps.

“He has something special in him,” Mr Griffiths said.

He said he could see the dancer in the 16-year-old as he played on the field with his teammates.

“It’s in his balance, his ability to stop on a dime and how he can rotate so quickly,” Mr Griffiths said.

“He’s an amazing player with a lot of strengths.”

Although he said he would miss the Captain’s playing prowess, the teenager was chasing his dream and he wished the best for him.

“Kalin doesn’t have any doubts in his mind as to what he wants to do. Isn’t that a great thing for a 16-year-old?” Mr Griffiths said.

Finally, it has come to the point where Kalin has to choose between football and ballet.

“They’re so different - football to dancing,” Kalin said.

“Your body shape’s different and I think it’s to the point where I have to choose either one.

“It really could be life-changing.”

While football runs in Kalin’s blood – his uncle played for Penrith and his father played rugby union - there is no family precedent for dancing or much creativity at all, his mother said.

She would prefer he chose a career with a steady income, but said he must do what he loves.

‘’He played his football for mateship, really, and then just became very good at that and represented [his] school, [his] region, [his] state,’’ she said.

“But his heart’s not in it and he wants to pursue dance.’’

Kalin, whose room is filled with football and swimming trophies, said ballet appeals to his inner perfectionist.

“Ballet’s black and white. You do it right or you do it wrong,’’ he said.

“With all the other styles, you can interpret it in your own way, but ballet’s like, you’ve just got to be perfect.’’