Cowboys call-up a dream for Moranbah product

MICHAEL Bell was expecting to be hanging out with his mates in Townsville this weekend, instead he finds himself on the other side of the country.

Bell has been plucked from outside of the North Queensland

Cowboys top 30 squad and parachuted into their NRL Nines team.

The 20-year-old said his jaw hit the floor when he found out he’d be heading to Perth.

“Greeny (Cowboys coach Paul Green) called me and just said “what are you doing this weekend?” and told me the good news that I was going,” Bell said. “I was absolutely over the moon about it. It was completely out of the blue.

“It’s one of my dreams come true. Putting on the Cowboys jersey and representing North Queensland will be absolutely amazing. I’m so stoked with it.”

Bell, who has a junior contract with the Cowboys, said his family and friends were rapt he was given the chance to experience an event which featured all 16 NRL clubs.

“They were so happy for me, they just said try your best. Go over there and give it your all, you’ve trained hard for it,” he said.

Bell hails from Moranbah, a town which has been fruitful for the Cowboys over the years, including Josh Hannay and Travis Norton.

They played on the same hardened fields where Bell learnt his craft.

The centre spent the first 11 weeks of the pre-season training with the Cowboys squad, learning off the likes of premiership winner Justin O’Neill and Esan Marsters.

With fans around the country set to ask ‘who’s that?’ when Bell’s name is said by the commentators this weekend, he wants to ensure they won’t forget it anytime soon.