“I remember just being so nervous,” Hayden Buchanan recalled back to his first NRL preseason 12 months ago.
“It just felt so surreal… I actually didn’t know whether we could leave the facility to go get a coffee or not. I was asking everyone like, ‘can we leave?’ I was pretty nervous, but I think that once you just do something once, you kind of just get a bit of a feel for it and you’re more relaxed."
"I feel just more comfortable this time around and know I’m able to have conversations with people and I hope that helps my footy.”
Those who have kept up with the club’s pathways sides in recent years are sure to have come across Buchanan who zips across the field with a striking verve reminiscent of centres past.
Fresh starts become the norm for Hurstville-born Buchanan who, along with his parents and two younger sisters, spent time in Central Queensland and on Sydney’s Northern Beaches – where a teenage Tom Trbojevic ran his water – before settling back in Gerringong.
It was here that his path towards the Red V was laid out with a 15-year-old Buchanan rewarded with his first contract off the back of a stellar schoolboys showing.
It wouldn’t be the first time that he’d be fast-tracked up the rugby league ladder.
He played up an age group in Harold Matthews Cup and SG Ball earning his first taste of NRL training at just 17, before helping lead NSW to an Under 19s Origin victory despite being a year young.
2024 Player Highlights: Hayden Buchanan
But through the youthful fervour, there’s a level of intent in how he goes about his preparation which is governed by small bits of wisdom he has collected on his footballing ascent.
“I think people learn when they go through a negative experience because it probably hurts more,” he said.
“You ask yourself, ‘why did that happen? Can I be better? How can I do this?’… Our SG Ball side started the season 4-0. Everything was clicking, but we got hit with injuries and everything got tougher. We sort of allowed that to be a reason for our performance rather than going, ‘hey, this is what we’ve got and we’ve got to do it regardless’. I probably wasn’t as present as I could have been and that’s something I’ve definitely reflected on a bit over the offseason.”
Any regrets Buchanan had surrounding the Steelers’ finals exit hardly lingered with the 18-year-old earning a Knock-On Effect NSW Cup debut and his first Blues jersey within a few weeks of one another.
“I felt ready, but I was very nervous too. By game day, I was pumped, like, I was just excited. I’ve got to give massive credit to CT (Christian Tuipulotu),” he said.
“At captain’s run, he was pumping me up heaps and he was my winger, so I just felt really good and confident… It was a step up. I feel like the detail and the structure is probably the biggest difference I noticed. I enjoyed it. I learnt a lot on how to prepare more professionally.”
Buchanan calls his week in Under 19s Blues camp “one of the best” of his life and says it sparked a drive to chase further rep jerseys.
“It was so good,” he said.
“The coaches were great. Timmo (Shaun Timmins) was there. He was also my SG Ball coach. I thoroughly enjoyed being there with him. You bond so much with all the players. Casey McLean was my roommate and he’s gone on to absolutely kill it. He ended up representing New Zealand.
“I’ve always hated Queensland with a passion. I remember being seven years old crying and going to school in Queensland the next day. Everyone’s giving it to me and it stung, so beating them, it's quite liberating. I’d love to be in that arena again. I’ll be very grateful if I get picked.”
A back issue has resulted in a disrupted preseason for Buchanan but as expected, it’s been no issue for him turning the setback into a lesson.
“Rehab’s obviously tough and it comes with its own challenges. One thing I’ll take away from it is that I’m certainly more grateful for how good of a run I’ve had with injuries,” he said.
“It’s human nature to probably take for granted what’s given to us. Once it’s taken away, that’s when you go, ‘oh, like, I really miss it’. I’ll be in the gym doing my rehab and looking out on the field just wishing very badly I was out there. The back’s progressing really well. I actually feel great. I wish I could be out there, obviously, but I’ll let it heal properly. The physios have done an outstanding job… The back will be alright. I’ll definitely be back by Round 1 if everything progresses well.”
