Rookie watch: Cleary's confidence in Weaver

Tom Weaver faced a baptism of fire in his first fortnight of NRL, but the young gun quickly proved he was ready for first grade.

Wearing the Titans' No. 7 in the final three games of 2023 after injury sidelined incumbent Tanah Boyd, the 20-year-old didn't mess around in his debut against three-time premiership winner Nathan Cleary, setting up the opening try with a brilliant short ball to Klese Haas in only the second minute.

His maiden night in Gold Coast colours even caught the eye of the Penrith playmaker who believes he has a long future in the game.

"He was good... he looked pretty confident and took control of pretty much all the kicking. I’m happy for him and hopefully there’s many more [games] to come," Cleary said of Weaver post-match in Round 25.

"He’s kind of guy that can really develop his game and to debut against a team like us will put him good stead. I thought he played really well."

Having to then back it up against quality halves like Jahrome Hughes (Storm) and Matt Burton (Bulldogs), Weaver has quickly become a genuine option for Des Hasler to consider ahead of Round 1 after his fanatical finish to the most recent Titans season.

Boyd even knows how much potential the 2021 Australian Schoolboy has after his stellar start to his fledgling career, especially after impressing during the pre-season at Parkwood.

"He's been training well Weaves... I've just got to come back in and show what I can do and and do my job, so that's what I'll do," he said in December.

"[The competition] is good though.

"You've got to have depth and you look at the good sides like Penrith... the guys that come in there, it's that next man up mentality and they do a job.

"You've got to have that to be successful and we've got blokes fighting for spots everywhere, so it's really good for us."

With first grade still very much in Weaver's sights and having Hasler with 312 games of playmaking prowess in his corner, the exciting rookie has put everything into his preparations in order to win the season opener battle against his fellow teammate.