Schonig storms into debut ‘dream’

IN THE aftermath of a crunching tackle by three Canberra Raiders, Darryn Schonig thought “this is it, I’ve made it”.

The Kirwan High old boy and former Northern Pride prop realised a dream held since he was 13 in making his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm on Saturday night.

He did not have time to ponder his first hit up, first tackle, or even first step onto the field. When Tom Eisenhuth went down in the pregame warm up, the 24-yearold was called upon.

There were no initial nerves, no thoughts of “what if”, there was simply a job to do.

“I remember I was walking back, I hadn’t had a carry yet after scoring a try when Paps (Ryan Papenhuyzen) made that big break. Christian Welch asked if I wanted the kick off carry, I sprinted and gave it all my heart,” the Cooktown product said. “It kind of took me a little while because as soon as I got told we were going back into the sheds.

“I didn’t really stop and think about it, I didn’t get on until the second half but the whole time I was thinking footy, footy, footy.

“It wasn’t until I got on the plane afterwards I sat back and said ‘wow that actually happened’, something I wanted to do since I was 13. It unfolded right there and then.

“It was an unreal feeling, if anything it’s made me hungrier.”

Schonig made 29 running metres from three carries and six tackles in his limited minutes, which were enough to make him realise to what was needed to reach heights.

The contest was as fast as anything he had experienced, more intense than any game he had been a part of, and he had a former Kirwan High teammate in Brandon Smith to guide him.

The New Zealand international hooker typified his firebrand character throughout the 80 minutes, and Schonig said having him in his ear made his first steps in the NRL far easier to walk.

“All the building blocks for when I played 20s, ISC and now NRL. It set me up for what to expect,” Schonig said.