"Mate, you're next".
That was what Gold Coast Titans skipper Tino Fa'asuamaleaui said to rookie Cooper Bai after committing to the club beyond this decade.
It looked like it was an uphill battle for the Titans to hold onto the youngster prospect, who was all but certain to sign with the Melbourne Storm.
However, the Titans have managed to halt the process of him moving on, with the club now in talks to try to extend his time at the Titans.
The rookie lock forward impressed on his Round 27 NRL debut last year, crossing the line on his second touch of the ball, before being disallowed by the bunker.
With Fa'asuamaleaui committing to the club until the end of 2030, it is sending a strong message to fans that success is nearing.
With his future sorted, Fa'asuamaleaui can now look at keeping Bai on the Gold Coast, claiming that he has been speaking to him on a daily basis as a mentor figure.
"That's my job as a mate, and as a leader is to provide the boys if they're not feeling too well, or they need to talk to someone they can come to", Fa'asuamaleaui said at a media conference.
"Even today I said 'Mate, you're next', hopefully fingers crossed that's it, but he's got to weigh up a lot of things".
The sky's the limit for Bai, who has shown great promise already representing Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Championships, and will have the total support of Fa'asuamaleaui no matter which path he takes.
"Cooper, he's a good kid," Fa'asuamaleaui said.
"Since I've met him, since coming into the grade, he's set this standard for a young kid that you don't really see often.
"He's one that I really want to be with for the rest of my career at the Titans, hopefully we can build something pretty cool because he's only really young."
Drawing similarities between Fa'asuamaleaui and Bai, the duo have both dealt with being highly-sought after as a young player, with the Titans skipper helping him navigate through the contract process.
"Obviously, I went through that when I was younger, and I've just got to let him make his decisions. Hopefully he stays because he'll definitley build something nice here with him," Fa'asuamaleaui added.
"I'm speaking to him all the time. I'm just there for him to lean on for questions or if he needs to talk to people or talk to someone, I'm there for him."
Bai is set to feature in the Pre-season Challenge despite being placed in the NRL's mandatory 11-day stand down period due to being involved in a car crash.
