NSW coach Ewen McKenzie has hailed rookie centre Tom Carter as the unsung hero in the Waratahs' charge up the Super 14 ladder.

After injury robbed him of his long-awaited Super rugby debut in 2007, Carter has emerged as a revelation this season, with his combination with flyhalf Kurtley Beale proving particularly important for the Waratahs.

Few were more chuffed for Carter than McKenzie when the late-blooming 25-year-old regathered Beale's probing chip kick to score the match-clinching try in the Waratahs' crucial 25-10 victory over the Sharks on Saturday night.

"I think Tommy's played really well all year. He's unsung," McKenzie said.

"I think people have known about Tom Carter for a number of years and seen him play and they know he's done well in club football, but he's not on the tips of people's tongues.

"But what he does give you is a pretty tradesmanlike performance.

"And that's not the simple stuff of carrying the ball across the advantage line. His real added value for us has been in the unrewarded parts of the game like chasing kicks and things like that.

"When we kick, we kick with a purpose but the kick is only as good as the chase.

"A lot of the time we were able to catch the Sharks behind their forward pack and that took their forwards out of the game, and that's the efforts of Tom Carter.

"If you watch, he doesn't miss a beat on that."

After recovering in time to help Sydney University to their third straight Sydney premiership last year, Carter has capitalised on the departures of Morgan Turinui and Chris Siale and leapfrogged Sam Harris to establish himself as NSW's first-choice inside centre this season.

McKenzie said Carter was a shining example of what could be achieved through good, old-fashioned hard work.

"That work ethic, that attitude, there's a culture in that. He's added a lot in that area," McKenzie said.

"He's a really good worker for us in the midfield and people aren't going to talk about him as anything other than that really hard-nosed (type of player).

"But that's what we want. we actually base a game around what he does for us.

"So it works well for us. He's done a good job.

"And that 10-12 area has been sort of a bit of a revolving door at NSW for a long time, and yet we've been picking the same 10 and 12 all season.

"So that gives you some idea that we're getting some consistency in that area."

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