A Canterbury Bulldogs fan growing up who idolised Ben Barba, Eli Clark has gone from teaching at Belmore Boys High School to becoming one of the brightest young prospects at the club.
As the Bulldogs continue to overhaul their roster with a plethora of new additions, the club's junior system has slowly become one of the best in the competition as they attempt to find the next generation of players.
Alex Conti, Damon Marshall, Joseph O'Neill, and Mitchell Woods are just a few players slowly progressing through the club's junior ranks. Still, an outside back has caught the eye of Cameron Ciraldo and Stephen Crichton ahead of their opening clash against the Parramatta Eels.
Receiving a ton of minutes during the two trial matches in the centres, Eli Clark will make his NSW Cup debut on Saturday afternoon after transitioning from the Jersey Flegg Cup team.
"I've always been a Doggies fan since I can remember since I was about six years old when I first started playing footy so it's pretty surreal to be at this club," Clark told Zero Tackle.
"I watched every game as a child, and it's unexplainable how I'm here now.
"(I remember) Benny Barba scoring that try against Newcastle, it's one (moment) that sticks out.
"We've got a massive fan base here, and they're all so passionate, and it's really good."
The 2023 Jersey Flegg Cup premiership winner revealed that it was a surreal experience during the pre-season and the trial matches, rubbing shoulders and playing alongside people he used to watch on the television with his family.
Remembering watching Crichton's NRL debut, Clark hopes to continue learning from the likes of Crichton, Jacob Kiraz, and Josh Addo-Carr as he attempts to improve his development and skill.
"I think I had a good pre-season. I've worked pretty hard and learned a lot off Ciro and players like Critta, Kiraz and Foxy, so I've had a really knowledgeable pre-season, and it's been really good for me," he added.
"I've learned so much from all of the boys (in the backs), and it's the first pre-season with all of us together, and we're bonded really tight. It's really good.
"I want to be a complete player, and Stephen Crichton's one of the most complete centres in the game, and to be able to learn off him, it's unreal."
After playing with the Forster Tuncurry Hawks, Clark initially joined the club four years ago after impressing with the North Coast Bulldogs in the Andrew Johns Cup and Laurie Daley Cup competitions.
A regional player, Clark has previously earned representative honours playing for Country in the annual NSW Men's Police Country v City game in 2022.
As he looks to make his NRL debut later this season, over the past three years, he has been a key member of the club's Jersey Flegg Cup team, in which he has made 40 appearances and scored 200 points (19 tries and 62 goals).
"I want to play a bit of consistent footy in (NSW) Cup and hopefully get my NRL debut by the end of the year," Clark said when asked about his goals for this season.
"Keep working hard off the playing field and keep working at training and see where it takes me."
Clark's incredible pre-season not only saw him showcased to the Bulldogs faithful and impress in trial games against the Storm and Sharks but also garnered the attention of newly-appointed captain Stephen Crichton.
Recruited from the Panthers after three successive NRL premierships, the club captain stated that the young centre reminds him of himself and is a player to watch in the coming years.
"He's probably one of the bigger prospects coming out of our junior league," Crichton said.
"He's the one that kind of reminds me of myself when I was younger, just always asking questions and trying to be better.
"He's always coming and asking me questions after training and things like that.
"He's knocking on the door for that centre position as well, and that's the friendly competition that we have at training, which is really good because you get the best out of everyone.
"Young players like Eli Clark are definitely the next ones coming up, so it's good to have a good little system coming through Dogs as well just in case of injuries and things like that, but he's really coming up."