[2][3] He attended Bundaberg State High School and played his junior rugby league for the Western Suburbs Panthers before being signed by the Melbourne Storm.
[4][5] Laybutt's older brother Kyle played two NRL games for the North Queensland Cowboys.
[10] That season he played for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Hastings Deering Colts competition, starting at centre in their Grand Final loss to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
[11] In 2021, he returned to Cairns, joining the Northern Pride's under-21 side and the North Queensland Cowboys Young Guns squad.
[20] On 9 April, it was announced that Laybutt would miss the rest of the 2024 NRL season after suffering an ACL injury.