Rising star Sunny Kama is steadily achieving his childhood dreams, capping off a bumper 2024 with his first NRL pre-season at the Gold Coast Titans.
Fresh off playing a part in the National Schoolboy Cup grand final victory, the Palm Beach Currumbin winger is quickly finding his feet as he adjusts to the demanding workload - a big step up from the Future Titans training he has been accustomed to.
"It’s definitely fast-moving and intense," Kama told titans.com.au.
"Everything is very elevated from what I’m used to, but it's what I expected at this top level, especially knowing how important fitness is to Des.
"The boys are really looking after me though, especially AJ (Brimson), Kenny (Maumalo) and BK (Brian Kelly) in the back line."
Named in the Schoolboy Team of the Year, the young gun reflected on the foundation built early in his rugby league journey that fuelled his goal of claiming the Cup.
"We flew up and watched Palm Beach Currumbin Opens versus Patrician Brothers Blacktown as primary school students in Year 6, so we knew when we got to high school what our goal was," Kama said.
"We got really close to making it a reality in 2023, but ended up going down by a lot in the grand final to Westfields Sports High School.
"I really thought we might not get to do what we set out for."
In a twist of fate, Kama found himself once again in the Schoolboy Cup final in September - this time against the Patrician Brothers - the same club match-up the 18-year-old watched from the stands in his younger years.
"We were with a new-look team this time and had a slow start to our season but we got there in the end and it was truly magical," he said.
"It was such a special moment that we’d been working together for since primary school days."
Alongside Kama in the 18-16 win over the Patrician Brothers were fellow Future Titans Zane Harrison and Sam Stephenson - the trio now experiencing a NRL pre-season together at Parkwood.
"It’s so good playing alongside those boys and it makes it so more enjoyable having teammates you’ve played with all your life," he said.
"Being able to go to the next level with the same boys is such a special experience and I'll never take it for granted."
