'This is probably a year I remember for the rest of my life.'
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That was the statement South Sydney Rabbitohs young gun Tyrone Munro made upon reflecting on his 2023 season.
This year alone, Munro made is NRL debut, helped the Rabbitohs to a NSW Cup premiership win with a match-winning try, and then delivered a man-of-the-match performance in the State Championship final on NRL grand final day.
During his whirlwind of a season, Munro was happy to keep his head down and focus on his rugby league journey and steer clear of the limelight.
But, after a visit to his birthplace of Moree to visit friends and family last week, the 18-year-old opened up to the Champion about his journey in rugby league.
He began playing at "four or five" after his family moved to Sydney when he was three-years-old.
Munro played the sport in the South Sydney area and attended a trial for the Rabbitohs' Harold Matthews squad.
He played the under 17s competition throughout 2021 and landed the club's player of the year award.
The following year he stepped up to the under 19s SG Ball Cup competition.
At the start of 2023, he was still part of the SG Ball squad but by the end, he had announced himself as a player of the future in the NRL.
"It was a goal from a young age, ever since I started watching Latrell, watching GI, Jonathon Thurston play in the NRL," Munro said.
"I remember watching them and saying 'that's what I want to do when I grow up'."
Munro made his top grade debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs on June 30 in round 18 of the NRL season against the New Zealand Warriors.
His debut was kept a secret right until kick-off with the youngster wearing jersey 18.
Munro said it was a "dream come true".
"I didn't really want to think about it as much early on in that week. I just tried to ride it. But a couple of minutes out, it hit me," he said.
Munro's mum and aunty made the journey to New Zealand, a first on all counts.
"That is the first time I have been overseas," he said.
"Most of my family don't have passports. They have never been overseas.
"Souths, they helped my mum get a passport in two or three days so she could come over."
Munro played another two NRL games throughout the season but also starred at NSW Cup level.
He played in the grand final against the North Sydney Bears on September 24.
The Rabbitohs got the win 22-18 and it was Munro who had the final say on the result, scoring in the 75th minute to claim the victory, and end a 40-year drought for the Bunnies' NSW Cup side.
"I wasn't getting the ball too much," Munro said of the grand final.
"I was kind of dirty at them. I wanted to go in there, I wanted the ball. The boys were saying 'keep calling, your moment is coming' and I just waited. My moment finally came.
"It was pretty special.
"The boys I got to do it with, it was unreal."
The following week it was NRL grand final day.
The start of the day's fixtures saw Munro's Rabbitohs take on Queensland Cup champions, the Brisbane Tigers.
For Munro, it was a bit of a different game to the week before.
He certainly got the ball a bit more.
He crossed for three tries in a man-of-the-match performance.
"I can look back 20 years from now, and say I was part of that team," Munro said.
"They had never won an NRL State Cup grand final.
"To play on a day like that, in front of a crowd like that, it was pretty special."
To cap it all off, Munro was named South Sydney's John Sattler Rookie of the Year at their presentation night.
"I look back now and think what a year I have had," he said.
But, accolades aside, Munro will never forget he was once the little boy who dreamed of playing in the NRL.
And he's hopeful of inspiring other young kids from rural and regional areas to dream big.
"If you put your mind to anything, you can achieve anything you want to," he said.
"No matter where you are from, who you are, put in hard work and be dedicated and things will happen in life for you."
Last week he took that message back to Moree, the town he considers as his home.
"I am proud of where I am from and who I am," he said.
"It will always be my home, that's my country."
Munro visited family and friends and even put on an impromptu session for the local community to visit Broughton Oval and interact with them.
A quick social media message saw nearly 200 people turn up to play bull rush, touch footy and a few other games.
"Then I was giving them signed footballs and signed training jerseys," he said.
"The kids loved it.
"You don't see many NRL players going back to Moree and it is pretty special."
It was also about giving back to the community who have supported him throughout his journey up until this point.
"My family told me the whole of Moree was watching," Munro said of his NRL career.
"So that was just me thanking everyone for watching and show their support.
"I appreciate every and single one of them. I am forever grateful to have people like that behind me.
"Big shout out to all of my Moree mob."