The former Mittagong Lion is now a regular first grade player for Parramatta Eels and will take to the field against Melbourne on Saturday afternoon in the second of the qualifying finals.

The Eels finished fourth and will travel to Melbourne to take on minor premiers the Storm.

Despite being the underdogs, Alvaro said the team was looking forward to what is arguably the toughest test in NRL at the moment- Melbourne in Melbourne.

“We like being the underdogs. No one’s really giving us a chance down there so it feels like there’s not really any pressure on us,” he said.

Parramatta and Melbourne have faced each other just once this season in round 18 in July.

The match was played during the Origin period and the Storm were missing several players.

The Eels celebrated a 22-6 victory on that occasion.

But Alvaro expects a very different game this time round.

“I think it’s going to be much harder this time round. We need to do what we did last time.

“Play nice and direct, bring a lot of energy and try and get on top of them that way.”

And while you would expect one of the NRL’s up and coming stars to be feeling nervous heading into his first finals series, this is not the case.

“I can’t wait. We’ve got a really good bunch  of boys and the energy around it is making me more and more excited.”

Alvaro has had a strong season in 2017.

According to Total Footy Stats, he has scored two tries and taken 229 hit ups.

The young Eels prop has made 638 tackles and made 1968 running metres and was selected to represent Country in the City v Country Origin this year.

If the Eels lose on Saturday, their top four finish will ensure they get a second bite of the cherry next weekend.

The qualifying final between Parramatta and Melbourne will kick off at AAMI Park at 4.10pm.