Rising South Sydney Rabbitohs forward Tyrell Fuimaomo says going to a private school kept him away from drugs and crime.

Writing for the Rabbitohs website, Fuimaomo was grateful for the opportunity to switch schools in his teenage years.

“Originally I went to Hills Sports but my Mum wanted me to transfer over to Patrician Brothers’ College in Blacktown because I was mucking around too much at school so she thought sending me to a more educated system would be more beneficial for me,” he wrote.

“It kept me on a straight line. I really do believe I benefitted going to a private school because it kind of kept me away from most of the things that were evident in my area. I see a lot of the people now that I grew up with and they aren’t doing too well with drug addictions, crime and things like that so I was kind of glad I wasn’t around that.

“It provided me with a better environment and kept me more focused and I surrounded myself with people who had similar goals and ambitions. Most of the kids that went to the school had their heads pretty screwed on and I reckon that helped me a lot instead of hanging around and getting up to no good. It definitely made a massive difference.”

The Junior Kangaroo says he won’t be one of those guys that didn’t reach their full potential.

“I’ve got a reminder every day with a tattoo that reads ‘Proud but never satisfied’. You’ll always hear that kid did this and that but then he never did anything with his life. I will never become complacent.”