For a long time Henry Johns thought agronomy was where his future lay.
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It was a well-trodden path from Farrer, and one he was all set to follow, having been offered a place at the University of New England to study rural science.
But, after taking a gap year post-school, part-way through last year his mindset shifted.
Talking to his cousin, who is a dietitian, and focusing more on his own health and fitness, the 19-year-old came to develop a strong interest in the dietetics field.
"I just loved everything about it, and eating well and what different types of food do to you and how the body functions," Johns said.
Around the same time, the Hunter Wildfires reached out about joining their colts program for the 2024 season.
Having always wanted to pursue something beyond Gunnedah with rugby, but not that keen on moving to Sydney - a couple of Sydney clubs had sought him out about playing with them in 2023, but the city life is "a bit busy" for him - it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Only problem was, Newcastle uni doesn't offer rural science, and Johns wanted to be studying something; make sure he had something to fall back on.
So he started thinking about what else he enjoyed, and landed on nutrition and dietetics.
"I thought this is a good course and looking at what's in it, it's pretty tailored for me," he said.
The offer from the Wildfires was somewhat perfect timing.
It was the lift Johns needed.
Coming off a successful 2022, which included captaining the Farrer First XI to the North West Regional Youth Competition open boys silverware, he had grand goals of playing first grade for the Red Devils.
But, unfortunately he dislocated his shoulder during the pre-season.
"I'd subluxated (partially dislocated) it a couple of times during Year 12 and then I properly dislocated it at training," he explained.
He played a couple of games but ended up going under the knife in May.
It was "hugely disappointing", with the indications from the coaches that he was pushing for a first grade spot.
Just out of the sling when he got the news about the Wildfires, it motivated him to continue to work hard with his rehab. It was something to strive towards.
Back to full use around October, Johns, who is also a handy cricketer, has been training the house down and can't wait to get down to Newcastle and "rip in".
Capable of playing hooker or flanker - the former would probably be his preference - the goal is to make the colts first side.
Regardless, he just wants to keep learning, both academically and footy-wise.
He does have some pretty good rugby brains to pick with former Wallaby Andrew Blades and former Wallabies assistant coach Scott Wisemantel joining the Wildfires coaching roster in consultancy roles.
"It's pretty cool that I'll be exposed to some stuff like that," he said.
On a family holiday at Forster this week, he said he might duck down to Newcastle for a couple of the training sessions this week.
Otherwise he'll continue to do his training program at home before heading down full-time in February when uni accommodation opens up.
