He's had to endure a far more daunting scenario - the possibility of those big boots connecting with his backside when he revealed to Palu that he was dating Palu's cousin, netball star Mo'onia Gerrard.

It was New Year's Eve four years ago when Dennis, then training with the Waratahs Academy, spoke to the NSW and Australian back-rower for the first time. Palu picked up Gerrard from a party, where she introduced him to her new boyfriend.

''He looked at me and nodded,'' Dennis recalls. ''Didn't say much. I had seen him around at training but never spoken to him; we usually trained at different times because he was with the full-time squad.

''But he's been awesome, Cliff is a great bloke. You can understand it's probably not the best for him, the situation, but he understands and gets it. He is serious when it's serious, but he knows how to joke around.''

Dennis, who wears the Waratahs' No.8 jersey for the first time - filling in for the injured Palu - isn't sure whether it's worth seeking advice from ''Cousin Cliff'' before he faces the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium.

''I should speak to him about some tips for the game, but he will probably end up giving me relationship advice - no, more like relationship warnings,'' Dennis says.

While both enjoy a level of publicity in their respective sports, Dennis and Gerrard have managed to keep their relationship out of the spotlight. However, Dennis - who grew up in East Kurrajong - is intrigued by the idea of marketing themselves as western Sydney's Posh'n'Becks.

''We'll walk down the red carpet at Rooty Hill RSL and watch a performance by Paul Kelly, that's not too far away from Posh'n'Becks; red carpets are all the same,'' he says.

When Gerrard took the big money offer to join Adelaide from Sydney in 2008, making her the highest-paid netballer in the land, Dennis - still on a $15,000 Academy contract - hardly felt emasculated. ''I copped a bit from the boys, but I was planning to become a stay-at-home dad,'' he says.

Dennis persisted with his dream of playing for NSW, and has now become one of their most versatile and reliable players. His strong performances this year have put him on the fringes of Wallabies selection again, having toured with the national side in 2009.

Yet only eight years ago Dennis had a completely different goal - to don the baggy green cap. He played alongside Australian cricketers Stephen O'Keefe and John Hastings, and Australia A batsman Peter Forrest, in Hawkesbury's under-16s Green Shield side when only 15, and captained the side the following year. Dennis, a lanky paceman, had a promising future until he made the sudden decision to concentrate on rugby at 17.

Dennis, the second-youngest of five children, retains affection for Sydney's west and particularly his parents' two-hectare property in East Kurrajong.

''I would have loved to stay there but it's just reality with training,'' he says. ''It will always be a big part of my life. ''We have a dam and tennis court. I remember after school, Mum would always have freshly baked cookies waiting when we got home from school. Other kids used to come over, I'm sure they didn't even want to be friends with me, they just wanted the food. I love going out there, and I look forward to letting my grandkids loose out there.''

Dennis says his parents, John and Mary, were great role models.

''I am definitely proud of the way Mum and Dad raised me - we didn't have everything but we never went without anything. The many values they instilled in me have shaped the person I am today,'' he says.

''They've been together for 35 years, and I rarely see them argue. They both used to teach together at Richmond High [John still works there], so that's going to work, seeing each other there, going home together, that's a lot of time together.

''If I could have a marriage half as good as theirs, I'll be happy.''

That kind of sentiment would be enough to soften even big Palu's heart.