Despite his wife having just given birth, Brett Taylor couldn’t hide his excitement; he’d just seen something amazing unfold.

Barely hours after sitting by Romona’s side for the arrival of their youngest son, Brett was lining up for Cobden against Camperdown, his team-mate a year 10 schoolboy named Ben Cunnington.

Tasked with the responsibility of protecting the youngster in his first senior game, Taylor was witness to a tale that will go down in country footy legend. At 15-years-old Cunnington booted 10 goals after coming off the bench nearing half-time.

“I went back to the hospital and my wife said that’s all I could talk about. It wasn’t about our new son, it was about how well Ben did,” Taylor told The Herald Sun’s Sam Edmund.

“She reckons if he was born a day after the game I would have called him Ben.”

Three-time Carlton premiership player Jim Buckley was in the stands after providing a pre-game rev-up to the Cobden players, and quickly on the phone to Blues’ officials.

“I went down and gave a bit of a spruik, just basic sort of stuff, and some of them were saying, ‘You better watch this 15-year-old’,” he said.

“I did ring Carlton and said: ‘I’ve seen a kid down here who we should have a look at.’ He was just going to make it, you could see that. I only saw him that one day, but I’ve watched him come through and he’s really having a great year this year (2014), isn’t he?”

Two years later he ended up at North, and now in his fifth season, Cunnington’s numbers are comparable to the league’s elite midfielders.

Equal-second for clearances, fourth for contested possessions and an average of 23 possessions and 7 tackles game in the first four rounds; his statistics are more than impressive for a 22-year old.

It’s taken time though. Stress fractures in his debut year at Arden Street were followed by knee soreness in an injury interrupted 2011 pre-season.

At one stage he and team-mate Jack Ziebell were labelled ‘next to useless’ by premiership coach Paul Roos following a disappointing loss to Richmond.

How things have changed.

Cunnington overcame adversity, finishing fifth in last year’s best and fairest despite a terrifying fortnight mid-season in which his father Alan was fighting for his life after being crushed by a cow.

The man who famously wore the number 10 before him full of admiration for the youngster.

“He’s playing some amazing footy and even the way he finished off last year was brilliant,” Anthony Stevens said.

“I suppose because of the number and the fact they said we were similar players I’ve taken a keen interest in watching him. He’s fantastic in-close and he’s one of those kids who just reads the ball so well and gets the hard ball and that’s what I love watching.”

There’s little wonder Cunnington has made it to where he is. His dedication from a young age set him apart from those around him. He simply wanted it more.

“In my time at the (Geelong) Falcons, 20 years, I’ve seen (Gary) Ablett, (Jimmy) Bartel, (Cameron) Ling and (Matthew) Scarlett, (Luke) Hodge, Jon Brown, Jordan Lewis and I’m not saying they weren’t professional, but Ben Cunnington was the most professional kid I’ve ever dealt with,” Falcons’ region manager Michael Turner added.

“I can remember when we played late on the Sunday and he was getting home to Princetown at 1am and we would check his rehab and he’d be in the water on the Great Ocean Road.

“He was unbelievably professional and now he’s starting to play the sort of football he did with us. He was a beast, around the ball he was just unbeatable.

“He must be close to being the best stoppage player in the AFL at the moment.”

For emerging youngsters hoping to live their dream, Cunnington is perhaps the perfect role model.

“He did everything he possibly could to make sure that (playing AFL) came true,” former Cobden coach Wayne Walsh said.

“It’s a fantastic lesson for juniors that you’ve got a decision to make at a young age: Do you just want to be a country footballer and go out on a Saturday night and have a few beers in a shed or do you want to develop your career?”

For Cunnington, the choice was simple.