Exciting young lock Tom Hockings loves life at the Western Force and learning form Nathan Sharpe so much that he has re-signed with the Perth-based Super 14 club for two years.
Hockings had a tremendous 2008 season and he would have played representative rugby over the last month if it had not been for a shoulder injury.
The 22-year-old underwent shoulder surgery this month, but will be right to start pre-season training this year and he was never seriously tempted to leave Perth despite originally coming from Queensland.
"It was a bit disappointing that I got injured and had to miss the last three games, but hopefully next year I have a full season and do as well as I can," Hockings said after re-signing on Tuesday.
"I came from Queensland, so if I ever left it would be to go home there, but there's no reason to leave here. The rugby's going great and I'm loving the lifestyle, so this was always where I was going to be."
Hockings knows what it's like to have to comeback from major surgery and is confident he won't have any lasting effects from the shoulder.
"The surgeon told me it went really well and now I have to wait for it to heal up before I start with the rehab. I had surgery on my back when I first got here in 2006, so it's not my first major surgery and it gives me an indication of how hard I have to work in rehab to get back," he said.
"That all went well and I was ready for the 2007 season, so I know what I have to do and I should be right to start pre-season. The timing is pretty good. I just miss the UK tour, but the four months takes me straight to the start of training, so I'll get a full pre-season under my belt."
Hockings was thrown in the deep end in South Africa by not only making his debut in Round 1, but calling the plays at the line outs with Sharpe out sick. He grew from that experience and enjoyed the season up until hurting his shoulder, but he will be telling his team-mates about his rare try for a long time.
"That first game was a daunting task. I found out a day before hand that I'd be calling the line outs as well as starting, so I was just studying up the whole time to get everything right. I got schooled in that game, but I learned a lot from it and in the end it was a great experience," he said.
"I enjoyed the season, but it's disappointing I missed the last three games, but overall I felt a good part of the team. The try I scored was definitely the highlight. I wouldn't expect to score another for another three years, so that's a one off for a while."
Any young lock would dream of learning from Sharpe and Hockings is now his right hand man and loving it.
"Sharpey knows so much about line outs and he has given me a lot of confidence by telling me I can match it with everyone," he said.
"One of the main reasons I came over in the first place was because he was here. He has tremendous leadership and line out knowledge, which I wanted to learn, and everything with him has lived up to expectations as I've learned a lot and hopefully I continue that next year."