While his Penrith team-mates focus on cementing a finals berth over the next eight weeks, schoolboy sensation Wade Graham will have a lot more than just football on his mind.

With pressure from parents and teachers - not to mention the students themselves - to achieve top results, sitting for the Higher School Certificate is one of the most stressful periods in the lives of anyone who completes year 12. On top of that, the rookie Panthers five-eighth has to endure the demands of trying to establish an NRL career.

Trial exams begin next month, and on October 15 Graham will join 70,000 other students around Australia sitting for their HSC. As the exams approach, students must balance study with their regular schooling and any part-time work - causing havoc to a teenager's social life and sporting commitments.

Term three, starting next week, is essentially the last term of year 12, because term four is consumed by the HSC (the average student in NSW sits six exams), followed by post-school celebrations and graduation. So, as the teachers constantly remind us, now is crunch time. You either sink or swim.

For most year 12 students, a normal day at school would be six hours but often there are extra tutorials or extension classes to attend before or afterwards. On such days, I usually arrive home about 4.30pm, and if I have soccer training as well, it's 9pm before I've showered, eaten dinner and started to do any homework. The next day it starts all over again.

For Graham, life is even more intense. Apart from school commitments, he has to undergo exhausting gym, ballwork and video sessions every week, play for the Panthers, attend to the media and treat any injuries.

And if that's not enough, Graham's burden is even more onerous considering he is studying subjects that aren't easy.

Maths, English, ancient history, business studies and PD/H/PE (Personal development/health/physical education) all require hard work, but this 17-year-old P-plater appears to have found the right balance. "When I get my day off, I get the work I've missed and do it at home," Graham says. "My teachers are really good at Hills [Sports High School] and Matty [Matthew Elliott, Panthers coach] understands school's important to me."

A local junior from Blacktown City, the same club as his scrumbase partner Luke Lewis, Graham started this season in Penrith's SG Ball side but was quickly elevated to the under 20s in the third round of the National Youth Competition and handed his NRL debut just 12 weeks later. While people his age chase autographs, Graham now signs them.

"It's a little weird," he admits. "A few weeks ago, I was watching these guys on television, now I'm on the same field as them."

But the NSW under-18s captain, whose heroes were Brad Fittler - another Penrith schoolboy star - and Andrew Johns, maintains he doesn't get starstruck.

Off the field, it appears Graham has it all figured out - combining study with football while being kept grounded by his family. He lives at home with his mum, dad and three sisters, but when asked about a girlfriend, he says: "No mate, just living the dream."

When he's in need of advice, Graham often turns to his father. "He's always been there for me, and usually points me in the right direction," he says.

He also credits a number of other people with being instrumental in his success, but says the biggest influence was Penrith under-20s coach Steve Georgallis. "He really took my game to the next level; he keeps me calm and taught me composure," Graham says. "All the coaching staff have been really helpful."

The respect is mutual. "He's very mature and confident in an old man's environment, which makes him easy to coach," Elliott says.

Most year 12 students' social lives suffer as a result of studying for exams, and Graham has missed out on the occasions when his mates have hit the town for a night of fun.

"A lot of the nights out with the boys I've missed because I've been out training or something," Graham says. "[But] they're really happy for me, they know how hard I've worked, and they're the same mates I've grown up with."

Tonight he will showcase his talents as Penrith take on a depleted Titans side at Skilled Park, but as soon as the season ends, Graham will go from hitting the weights to hitting the books and immersing himself in study.

With his 18th birthday falling in the middle of the HSC, even Graham's coming-of-age celebrations will be put on hold until after his final exam on November 5.

"He's a smart kid," Elliott says. "He's very academically gifted."