Rising fullback Liam Ison (Shark #561) will become the latest player to debut for the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday night, etching his name in the club's history books and joining the likes of Paul Gallen, Steve Rogers and Andrew Ettingshausen to wear the Sharks jersey.
Once touted as the successor to Dylan Edwards at the Penrith Panthers, Ison will become the fourth player from the famed Panthers 2022 Jersey Flegg Cup premiership team this weekend to appear in the NRL, following Isaiya Katoa, Mavrik Geyer and Hohepa Puru.
A St Marys Saints junior, the 19-year-old speedster will enter the team for the suspended Will Kennedy after a breakthrough season in the Jersey Flegg Cup and NSW Cup for the Newtown Jets.
In ten reserve-grade matches, he has improved his game and taken it to another level, scoring nine tries, making 72 tackle busts and seven line-breaks, providing five try assists, and averaging 146 running metres per game.
Ahead of his debut, Liam Ison spoke to Zero Tackle about his journey to the NRL, the decision behind moving from Penrith to the Shire and the importance of his family and friends.
"I was a touch football player growing up and I was at the stage in my footy career when I was like 14 (and) I wasn't really getting picked for the teams," Ison told Zero Tackle.
"I didn't really hit puberty but then I had a touch footy coach Scott Buckley, who kind of believed in me and I kind of just transferred into rugby league.
"He gave me the skills and just the confidence to be the player I am today. Growing up I wasn't the most gifted kid physically.
"When you don't get picked in the junior teams, and you just see every else getting picked, you're like, why can't it be me? I think just time and just sticking to the process in training, everything pays off."
Although Saturday will mark his first match in the NRL, Ison has previously spent time with Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler as a member of the Junior Blues.
He also played in the Harold Matthews Cup, SG Ball Cup, and Jersey Flegg Cup with the Panthers from 2020 to 2023 before making the switch to Cronulla ahead of this season and is able to play five-eighth and at hooker, but prefers the fullback position.
"Cronulla have always been a tough side," Ison said on the main factor in joining the club from the Penrith Panthers.
"Being through all the dramas and stuff that's happened, they've always been here. They've been gritty and it's just a great pathway for kids coming through.
"That's why I kind of decided to make the move. I like what the club is here building, it's pretty special. It was obviously a very tough decision to move away from Penrith but I'm very grateful for that.
"Whenever someone moves clubs you obviously miss your teammates having grown up with them, playing alongside them."
A lifelong Cronulla Sharks fan, he admitted that he spent time supporting the Penrith Panthers having risen up the club's ranks but is now back supporting the Sharks as he gets ready to run out onto the field for the club he has supported since a little boy.
"I did go for Cronulla growing up, but playing for Penrith and going through the ranks, I decided to be a Penrith fan, but nah, I'm Sharkies now."
Looking up to superstar fullbacks Ben Barba and Billy Slater growing up as a child, Ison admitted that he has closely examined the games of teammates Will Kennedy and Kade Dykes, having spent time with them at training through the season and during pre-season.
"I look at Will and what he does and Dykey [Kade Dykes] and everything they put into the position. On the field I look at that but everyone's in a tight-knit group, so everyone's hanging out together," he added.
Still living in Penrith with his parents, he admitted it's "tough most days" travelling down to the Shire for training and revealed he wouldn't be where he is today without his family and in particular his parents.
"(They have been a) massive (factor). Everyone's parents want to see their son or kids do something with their life," he stated.
"Everything they do for me is massive. When I was still in school, Mum still made my lunches, so everything they do, I'm really grateful for and they're the best parents ever."