THE young winger calmly fields a kick deep inside his own 22-metres before assessing the situation and backing his judgment.
For rising Euros winger Ashley Hema, the pressure and decision making needed to excel in the Mount Isa Irish Club Rugby Union Premiership are something he relishes tackling head-on.
"I love it," he enthused after coming off the field recently against Warrigals.
The young speedster playing in his first full season of senior rugby said while he enjoyed the physical side of the game, his greatest thrill came from flying over for a try.
"I've scored more than 10 tries so far which has been pretty good," he said like any winger should.
Hema was once more on the try scorers' list alongside his brother Harley in his last match.
While claiming five-pointers is becoming a habit for Ashley out wide, the experience is less regular for his front-row sibling.
"We play in different positions and are built differently, but it is good to have him playing on the same side as me," Ashley aid.
The only problem for the Hema brothers is while their father is immensely proud of his sons' achievements on the field, he finds it hard to barrack for Euros.
"My dad was responsible for getting me interested in rugby but he used to play for Keas after we moved from New Zealand when I was young," Hema said.
"So he still finds it tough to go for Euros, especially when they play Keas."
Asked why he chose to play for Euros instead of his dad's old club Hema joked it was to get under his old man's skin.
The decision to play for last season's premiers appears to be paying off.
"I'm getting a lot of support from my coach Mick O'Connor and the older players," Hema said.
"When I first joined the club, I didn't really know the rules and was a bit scared against some of the bigger players.
"Now I love going out and being part of a winning team."
O'Connor said there was no denying the talent Hema possessed but he still had some work to do.
"You can see he has all the talent in the world but he just needs to iron out a few issues with positional play," O'Connor said.
"He never shirks the hard stuff and at training he is always putting in and you can just see the skills he has already.
"Out on the field he chases the ball hard in defence and attack and never gives up."
Under the guidance of the senior players and his coach, Hema is a regular in the starting line-up, one of the first players picked, despite only switching to the 15-man code at the start of the season.
Euros captain Simon Ishmael said the senior players were impressed with the maturity being shown by Hema.
"Ashley is always doing everything that is being asked of him and you can see his confidence has really grown during the season," he said.
"Winger could be a position where you try hide someone who is not necessarily the best player on the side but when you have guys who are skilful it is a huge boost.
"If your two wingers and your fullback are able to strike from the back it is a massive advantage and Ashley certainly has that ability," Ishmael said.
It's a combination of speed, growing strength but most importantly the desire to soak up everything he can from his teammates making Hema a potent strike weapon for Euros as they look to defend their title.
"I am really enjoying my rugby and just want to keep improving with every game," he said.
"Having guys like Zemic [Patuwai], Kaine [Manihera] and Timmy [Daniels] inside me is a really big bonus and is helping me get better as a player."
"In the future it would be good to be able to play representative rugby but for now my focus is to help Euros win the grand final and maybe score a few more tries."
With the traditional New Zealand versus Rest of the World exhibition match looming in Mount Isa on the weekend, the Kiwi selectors should be mindful of Hema's country of birth.
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