North Queensland Cowboys prospect, Tom Duffy has declared his allegiance to the North, knocking back the advances of Phil Gould and the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Duffy, a premiership winner with the U21s Townsville Blackhawks side and the current U19s Queensland first receiver was reportedly earmarked by Gould as the next up-and-coming NRL halfback.
However, the 19-year-old told The Daily Telegraph, he has no intentions of heading down south to link up with rival clubs.
"I've grown up here, all my family is from here and I've supported the Cowboys since I can remember,” Duffy said.
“I definitely want to stay here and if I can, I'll be staying here as long as I can."
Duffy was elevated into North Queensland's top thirty back in November and now finds himself training in the company of the current Cowboys' halves combo - Tom Dearden and Chad Townsend.
"When they first came back I sort of took a back seat, it was a bit surreal to train next to them,” Duffy continued.
“But they're very forthcoming in giving lots of information and all I have to do is ask a question, and sometimes they'll just come over and tip me up.
“As soon as those older fellas came back, just the speed they do things, their communication, everything they do is just such a high standard, so I'm just learning off them and trying to get up to that speed.”
Along with Dearden and Townsend, Duffy is also competing with another Townsville local, Jake Bourke for a spot in the halves, and is hoping to break into Q-Cup in 2023.
