Cowboy who got away returns to tackle ‘beast’
VILIAME Kikau was supposed to be a Cowboys wrecking ball. Instead, he must now stop one.
Only three years after a North Queensland recruiter plucked him from the tiny Fijian island of Bau, Kikau will tonight return north for the greatest battle outside Alien vs Predator
— a showdown with Cowboys monster Cohen Hess.
Despite boasting only a dozen NRL games with Penrith, 22-year-old edge forward Kikau is considered a perfect foil for the rising Queensland Origin star who is scoring tries as quickly as any forward in rugby league history.
Combined, these NRL young guns weigh 230kg. Better still, they know each other.
“During my time with North Queensland under 20s, I remember hearing the name Hess a lot,” Kikau said this week.
“He was a year younger than me. Killing it in the high school competition. So his name kept coming up. People saying over and over how he was going to come play for us.”
As for taking him on tonight? “Ah,” Kikau said with a shrug, “I’m not even sure which side of the field he plays.”
Told it was the Cowboys’ right edge, he continued: “Well, if that’s the case, yeah, we will.
“And Hess, he’s definitely a beast. Trains like a beast, lifts weights like a beast, plays like a beast.”
Ironically, Kikau was himself discovered by North Queensland talent scout Adrian Thomson.
Joining the Cowboys in 2014, the young tearaway was only midway through his second season of NYC when Penrith GM Phil Gould pounced, stealing the backrower until the end of 2019.
Unknown before the start of this season, Kikau has proved outstanding over the opening three rounds.
It is a rise he credits, in part, to removing all traditional Fijian dishes from his diet.
“Which has been hard,” Kikau said with a laugh.
“I love kari, and my mum cooks the best dish. Then there’s all the other meals using chicken, pork, beef ... but my nutritionist says it’s all fat, no good. I’m sure I wouldn’t be in the NRL if I kept eating it.”
As for putting a similar ban on that famed island elixir, kava?
“No, I drink it after every game,” Kikau said. “And that isn’t going to change.”
Kikau also credits his rise to playing with Fiji in last year’s Rugby League World Cup, where his responsibilities included leading the traditional pre-match hymn.
“And that’s what made us stand out, our belief,’’ he said.