A desire to repay the faith shown in him by the Waratahs has seen rising lock Kane Douglas commit himself to the Super 14 franchise for a further two seasons.
In a significant boost to the Waratahs forward stocks, the 19-year-old will remain with the club until the end of the 2012 season.
Douglas has been one of the Waratahs best players this season in what has been an inconsistent start to the campaign for the NSW club.
After impressing in his Super rugby debut off the bench in the Round 1 victory over the Reds last month, the 116kg back rower has gone on to start the last four matches for the Waratahs.
Douglas said his decision to stay with the club gave him the chance to continue to improve his game under the framework which has seen him become a regular at this level.
"I've got a lot to thank the Waratahs for and hopefully I can pay them back not only this year but over the next couple of seasons as well," he said.
"They took a chance on me by inviting me into the program a couple of years ago, and under people like (junior coach) Joe Barakat, (forwards coach) Michael Foley and (senior coach) Chris Hickey I've been able to make it to the Super 14."
"I still think I've got a lot of learning to do, I know I can still improve a lot further and I know I'll be able to do that if I stay here."
Douglas was brought into the Waratahs Academy program in 2008 and was promoted to the senior squad last season without playing a match.
But after some strong form in this year's trials he earned a start for Round 1 and hasn't looked back.
"I said at the start of the season that I'd be stoked if I could play five Super 14 matches this year and I've done that already," Douglas said.
"I think now it's about trying to maintain my place in the squad week in, week out and make a solid contribution to the team."
"There's a lot more depth in the second row position than there has been here in the past, so I know if I'm off the pace I'll find myself out of the team. That's a good motivation."
The Waratahs travel to Perth to play the Western Force on Saturday night.