When Isaah Yeo stepped up to captain the Penrith Panthers in the absence of NSW Origin five-eighth James Maloney last July, his father Justin said "it's something they won't be able to take away from him".
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That night Yeo led the Panthers to a 36-4 win over the New Zealand Warriors in a man-of-the-match performance.
And this week the club continued to show its faith in the St Johns Dubbo junior, with coach Ivan Cleary naming Yeo in his six-man leadership team for 2019.
Yeo takes his place in the history books alongside Maloney, who captained the side in 2018 after the mid-season retirement of veteran hooker Peter Wallace, as well as New Zealand Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
It’s something they won’t be able to take away from him. When he retires one day, he’ll always be able to say he captained an NRL team.
- Justin Yeo, Isaah's dad
Also stepping up to lead the squad are prop James Tamou, Australian and NSW Origin winger Josh Mansour and Origin halfback Nathan Cleary.
“We’ve taken our time to decide on this leadership model and this specific group of players to ensure we deliver what is best for the Panthers this season,” Ivan Cleary told the Panthers' official website.
“This model provides our team with strong leadership through cooperation, which is absolutely vital to success in a team environment.
“The leadership group is intentionally balanced with a mix of positions, age, experience and personal qualities, while also providing an opportunity for future captains of this club to emerge.”
Yeo is no doubt one of those viewed as a future captain, having long been recognised for his leadership potential.
When it was announced he would lead Penrith in round 17 last year, the club's general manager Gus Gould labelled him "an inspiration to all young players anywhere in the country".
"If you want something badly enough and you are prepared to work hard, you can achieve great things," Gould tweeted at the time.
"Isaah Yeo Panthers Captain this week … What an outstanding young man."
The humble second-rower was also named the Panthers' Player of the Year at the club's 2018 presentation evening, receiving the highly coveted Merv Cartwright Medal.
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“I was obviously fortunate enough this year to play my 100th game … and I thought captaining this club would probably be one of the prouder moments of my career," Yeo said in an emotional acceptance speech.
"But this medal, I don’t think I can describe how much it means to me.
"I know you don’t play the game for these individual honours but this award sort of, we all make goals for our careers and this was one … this is a massive moment."
There's no doubt the "massive moments" will continue for Yeo.
The 24-year-old will play his first game in the official leadership group in Saturday's pre-season trial against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Ivan Cleary said he believed the shared leadership model would allow all Panthers players to further develop their leadership skills, benefiting the club in the long term.
“The shared leadership model will also encourage leadership from players outside the named group,” he said.
“We are confident it will see every Panthers player contribute in their own way and help create real ownership of this team in 2019.”
