'No money, no job, just a dream': How Canberra Raiders back-rower Hudson Young rose to NRL stardom

"It's nan's last name, Kaschan," the Canberra Raiders back-rower says.

Without nan and pop, Valentina and Terry Martin, Young isn't knocking on the door of NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler in search of a State of Origin debut.

It was Val and Terry who took Young in as a kid. Val had arrived in Australia with her family after World War II, staying at the Greta migrant camp in the Hunter Valley, where Young would one day rise through Newcastle's junior ranks.

It was Val who handed the phone to a 16-year-old Young when an ASADA official called to tell him he had tested positive to a substance the promising footballer couldn't even pronounce.

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It was Terry who took Young to 4am training sessions during an 18-month ban, after he decided it was time to revive his rugby league dream after his life slid off the rails and sent him into a jail cell.

Now Young is one of the NRL's most exciting prospects with higher honours on the horizon - but he will never forget the people who got him here. It's nan and pop, his family, his partner.

Which is why, every time the 24-year-old gets in his car to leave the Raiders' centre of excellence after training, he makes the same phone call. Val answers.

"I lived with them for most of my life. Obviously mum had five kids and it was hectic at home," Young said.

"It was only around the corner. Nan and pop used to take me to all the games and one night I just ended up staying there.

"Nan came over [from Ukraine] when she was young. It was weird when we were growing up because she used to speak a different language on the phone and we never really knew what was going on.

"She just speaks English now but I always muck around and say different words and she tries to teach us. I wish I actually put more time and effort when I was younger to actually learn it.

"I still speak to them every day, FaceTime or call them after every session. When I'm driving home, I'll always ring them up and keep them in the loop with everything.

"They're still probably my number one supporters on and off the field."

Which is why they get to every game they can.

They'll watch from afar during the opening two rounds, when the Raiders pack their bags for Queensland with the Cowboys and Dolphins awaiting them. Travel is getting a bit harder for Val and Terry these days.

But any game in Canberra or out west, they'll be there. Just don't expect to see them in Sydney. Hate it. Too busy.

But Young's mum and his four brothers? They'll be there.

Two of them are in Newcastle's pathway system. Young is already talking about the day he hangs up the boots in the NRL and heads back home to play in the local league with all of his brothers.

"Hopefully I can hang around that long," Young laughs. "I'm trying to be that role model for them, to give them something to look up to and strive towards in the NRL. Playing in the NRL with one of your brothers would actually be a dream come true."

Take Young's competitive streak and multiply it by five. You'd wake up feeling sorry for yourself if you were on the other side.

Just like the Young boys did from time to time when backyard football turned into a backyard brawl.

"It only stayed friendly for probably five minutes and then there were tears and fights," Young grins.

"It probably gave me my competitive nature, everything we did was to win and beat each other."

Which comes as no surprise if you've seen this fella play for the Raiders.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart reckons Young gets a bad rap for the way he plays football. Call him a dirty player or a grub, and Stuart reckons you couldn't be further from the truth.

What the Canberra mentor has at his disposal is the ultimate competitor, a player who is always in your face. Young never says die, which makes his place in the Raiders' engine room incredibly fitting.

Canberra fans are accustomed to watching their team play in the most ballistic game of any given round - and Young is quickly building a reputation as a player who can win a game with a moment of individual brilliance.

He knows no other way but to back himself - if you need a reminder, just look for a match-winning try off his own grubber against Newcastle last year.

"I sat down and spoke to him this time last year, and said to him: 'Mate, you've got to try to find something outside the game, to take your mind off the game. You've got to find something that's going to give you another interest'," Stuart says.

"What has really actually helped his game is he has found a nice partner [Kelsea]. I think having a partner, having another responsibility outside the game instead of spending every minute going to the gym or thinking 'football' has actually really helped him.

"He's just so passionate about football. He's an encyclopedia in regards to the game, the gossip, the stats and figures.

"He's just a real football head, he loves his footy. He's great for a coach in regards to forever wanting to do extras. He is always training, he's easy to coach."

And other coaches are taking note.

Another year like his last, and Young will be almost impossible to ignore for Blues coach Fittler. Australian coach Mal Meninga is already on notice.

Spend some time with Young and you get the sense he isn't the type of player to get ahead of himself. Even if he does, he knows his family will pull him back into line long before Stuart, Fittler or Meninga would have to.

"They give me the good reality check. You probably think you're going better than you are and they will be the first ones to tell you you're not and to bring you back down to earth," Young says.

"Obviously I've got goals and dreams, and one of them is to represent my state. At the moment, after the way I trialled on the weekend, it's just to get back and play some footy. I need to make sure I start the season well for Canberra.

"If we're winning games and we're playing well, the representative stuff will come off the back of that.

"Obviously where I'm from is a real footy town. Everyone lives and breathes footy, and my family is no different. Everyone in my family has come through playing footy.

"Being able to represent at the highest level would mean everything for them, but like I said, it's dreams at the moment. I want to put that into actions."

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