Tex Hoy has heard all the cliches.
You know the ones ... about keeping your mouth shut and letting your footy do the talking.
Which is all well and good, unless you are Tex Hoy.
Because a laidback, quiet Tex Hoy is not what the Knights need right now. In fact, just the opposite.
"Yeah, I'd say it's probably a disadvantage, my laidback, quiet sort of nature, particularly playing at fullback," he says.
"You probably have to flick a switch when you play footy. You have to be tough and aggressive and vocal and I've got to be conscious of that because away from footy, that's not really me.
"I know how to do it and I know what to say, it's just a matter of me doing it and not losing myself in the game. That's something that I am really working hard on right now, to be more vocal and just develop those skills so that they come a bit more natural to me."
Trying to finding his voice has been a big focus of his development this season with regular fullback Kalyn Ponga on the sideline recovering from shoulder surgery.
Hoy knew the entire pre-season he would be deputising at the back in the opening five or six rounds. So he had to get his head around those aspects of his game he needed to improve. Being more vocal was one while making sure he was involved was another.
"They were the big ones for sure," he says.
So how does he thinking he is tracking?
"Over the first two rounds, I'd probably give myself a six out of 10. That was the big talking point with me during the pre-season - my talk and to get my involvement up during games. I felt like round one against the Bulldogs, I was disappointed because it wasn't really there but I felt like that was something I improved on against the Warriors.
"I was pretty happy overall with my game against the Warriors. I think there are some little things I can work on that I need to improve for this week but I'm happy there was some improvement there from the Dogs game."
Stats don't always paint an accurate picture but despite his side not getting anywhere near as much possession against the Warriors as they did against the Bulldogs the previous week, Hoy clearly heeded the call of coach Adam O'Brien to get himself into the game more.
After running 17 times for just 98 metres against the Bulldogs, he upped the ante with 24 runs for 177 metres last weekend. But it's not just about the number of runs, it's also the timing and effectiveness of them.
"You can get involved but it's not as much about the quantity of them as about the quality and that's where my improvement needs to come," he says. "It's about my awareness too and using my eyes to take advantage of chances and not just allowing myself to drift through games."
Off contract at the end of the season, Hoy knows better than anyone the importance of these next three or four games.
"I'm not too sure when Kalyn will be back but it's sooner rather than later so I have step up to show the coaches and my teammates that I deserve to be in the squad somewhere even after he is back," he said.
