ACT Brumbies rookie Nathan Carroll using the tools to nail his Super Rugby dream

So when he finds himself gasping for air during a pre-season training session with the ACT Brumbies, he ponders the alternative. Yeah, "happy I'm doing that and not swinging a hammer".

"It's definitely a lot better than lugging a nail bag around," Carroll said.

"I do enjoy being on the tools, but rugby is definitely my dream job. I'd like to think I'm alright on the tools but I'm just an apprentice so I'm usually sweeping the floors and doing the dirty work."

That should read was just an apprentice, because the 21-year-old Queenslander has been elevated to the Brumbies' top squad as he turns his attention to earning a maiden Super Rugby cap.

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Carroll arrived in Canberra 12 months ago via Brisbane as part of the Brumbies' elite development squad, training with the top squad during the Super Rugby Pacific season. But as that campaign ended and he filtered back into academy training and a job on construction sites, he wondered if his top flight ambition would ever be realised.

"I tried to keep telling myself if I played well for Queanbeyan, then it was just around the corner," Carroll said. "But it was definitely in the back of my mind, the thought that I might be on the tools for quite a while."

So play well for Queanbeyan he did.

Carroll was instrumental in the Whites' first John I Dent Cup triumph in 12 years - first icing a 100-minute epic in a minor semi-final with a match-winning penalty goal before shining at fullback as Queanbeyan blitzed Tuggeranong and Royals en route to a drought-breaking premiership.

Kegs at Walsh's Hotel on Monaro Street had never been changed over as often as they were on that one night in September, thanks in part to this dazzling youngster from Brisbane with such attacking prowess he was renowned for all but breaking a defender's ankles every time he ran the ball.

Now Carroll - who arrived in Canberra as a fullback before the Brumbies began turning him into a flyhalf - finds himself competing with new recruit Jack Debreczeni for a berth as Noah Lolesio's understudy.

The depth chart runs a little deeper at fullback. Tom Wright was named to start at fullback for the Wallabies in their final Test of the spring tour, while the likes of Andy Muirhead, Corey Toole, Jesse Mogg and Declan Meredith are all options to fill the void left by Tom Banks.

"Last year, I felt like it was a bit out of my grasp, but this year I feel like there's a chance I could get a debut. I just want to make sure this pre-season I do everything I possibly can to put my name there. If it does get called, I'll be ready," Carroll said.

"I feel like I'm not too far away from getting my debut. I feel like there's a lot more responsibility on me this pre-season, standing up as a 10 a bit more.

"I've spent most of my time at 15, it's probably my most comfortable position, but I'm really enjoying training at 10 during this pre-season so we'll just see where it comes."

It helps when you're learning from Stephen Larkham. That he is learning from one of the greatest playmakers the game has ever seen is not lost on Carroll.

"It's perfect, I'm a 10 trying to learn his craft so it's awesome being able to talk to him about parts of the game. It makes you feel more confident when you're out on the field," Carroll said.

"That's what I've felt in this pre-season, that I've had a lot more confidence in my game. If I'm feeling a bit confused or not too sure what I'm supposed to be doing, I can always just talk to Steve and bounce ideas off him."

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