Boyhood dreams just keep flowing for Kangaroos back-rower Jacob Preston but he knows there's still plenty of work to do before the World Cup is added to his impressive resume.
Preston chalked up his maiden Test try four minutes from time in the 36-22 win over Fiji to cement the Kangaroos in the semi-finals in a surreal moment for the 25-year-old as his mum, stepdad and partner watched from the stands.
2026 RLWC: Preston Scores His First Try for Australia
“It was awesome. I don’t think we were at our best tonight but we’ll take the two points and keep moving forward," he said.
“It’s honestly a dream come true. It’s so special.
"As a kid I used to watch Darren Lockyer, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith run around for the Kangaroos and even guys I’m playing with – Tedesco, Munster, Grant – it’s super special to be able to play alongside them in this jersey."
The Bulldogs star is one of the high proportion of Kangaroos players who didn't feature in the NRL finals but has shown little signs of being off the pace across the opening two rounds of the World Cup.
Preston said he would take inspiration from the Bati's dogged effort as he looked to improve in his role heading into the final pool game against Cook Islands in Townsville on Saturday.
"I feel like Fiji played spectacular, they came out awesome in that first half and really put it to us and we had to work hard to make sure we got the win, so credit to them, they were really good tonight, but I feel like we can be a whole lot better as well," he said.
“Our defence needs to be better and I guess it comes down to scrambling for each other and being there for each other and I’m sure there will be a big emphasis on that and we’ll go back in the video room and I’m sure we’ll take a couple of lessons.
“Personally I’m chasing those little details in defence and as a team, both sides of the ball we can definitely we better and like I said we’ll go back to the video room and watch where we can be better and work on it."
Preston was grateful to have so many leaders in the squad to lean on to guide his step up but called out Isaah Yeo and James Tedesco as two with opinions he particularly valued, still pinching himself about sharing the field with them.
“(Tedesco) and Yeoy particularly, they’ve got years of experience and whenever they talk, we listen, so it’s unreal having those leaders," he said.
"There’s plenty of leaders in the group but it’s pretty special to learn off them."
After playing 53 minutes off the bench against the Bati, Preston will look to return to the starting side for the clash with Cook Islands.
