But after becoming one of the biggest selection bolters in Canberra Raiders history, the 27-year-old's career aspirations have suddenly got bigger.

Priest is the first player from Mounties to graduate to the NRL with Canberra. He ran for 65 metres off six carries when he came on late in Saturday's 60-6 thrashing of Wests.

He is the oldest Raiders debutant since Darren Porter in 2001 and is yet to sign an official contract with the club.

Plenty of Canberra fans would have thought "Clay who?" when he was named, and Priest can't blame them.

He's still struggling to believe it himself.

"It's all surreal, to look where I've come from and where I am now, I didn't think I'd be here," Priest said.

"I don't have that footy head on my shoulders, I just play football and enjoy time with my other mates who aren't footballers.

"It was only last week I got the call from the Raiders to come down and train.

"I didn't know what the expectations were, whether it was to fill numbers or there was a relevant position there for me.

"It's all just a big rush, I'm just coming back to earth now."

Had fate steered him down a different path, Priest could have been lining up for Penrith against Canberra in Bathurst this Saturday.

A Penrith Brothers junior, his then coach Steve Antonelli took the prop with him when he accepted the Mounties job four years ago.

"I don't know what's going to go on there [fixing powerlines], it might be put on hold for a while," Antonelli said.

"He's been doing that for years. He's always just been part-time with me, training two or three days a week because of work.

"The last year or two they [Penrith] spoke to him about coming to pre-season, but I said come with me and play NSW Cup.

"Even though he isn't a footy head you still have to be committed to work five days a week and go to training.

"You have to love it to do that," Antonelli said.

It's no coincidence Raiders assistant coach Dean Pay, one of the hardest forwards of his era, pushed Priest's barrow.

"He's as tough as they come, no one intimidates him and he's my enforcer if someone needs looking after," Antonelli said.

"Dean Pay likes him because he's tough, Deano got on board and said to Sticky [coach Ricky Stuart], 'you've got to give him a go'."

Stuart sent a strong statement by dropping veteran prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala for Priest and was pleased with his debut.

Long-term injuries to Sia Soliola (arm) and Jeff Lima (hand) opened the door for Stuart to blood Priest.

"We've had a number of injuries in the middle and blokes have got opportunities out of that," Stuart said.

"Clay Priest was very solid in his first game on debut and that's important from an overall squad aspect.

"I'm really happy for Clay. I said before the game all the boys like having him around, and if players like having you around one, you're tough and two, you can play."

He may not be a "footy head", but Priest is happy to be the poster boy for players well into their 20s who believe their chance has passed them by.

"NSW Cup is a strong comp and you're constantly playing blokes who are regular first graders," Priest said.

"There's plenty of opportunity there for a NSW Cup bloke to follow their path and be exactly like me."