STAR ON THE RISE

IT was earlier this month that Cowboys forward Corey Jensen had finished his usual trip home to Bowen.

He got in his car and began the 2 ½ - hour drive to Townsville along the Bruce Highway.

Jensen had all but given up hope of playing in an NRL finals series.

He had defied all expectations, both personal and external, by playing 14 NRL games in a season he was set to play one, maybe two games.

Through hard work and a bit of luck Jensen had cemented his spot in coach Paul Green’s 17, and a finals’ berth would follow if the Cowboys scraped into the top eight.

But only a minor miracle would see the Cowboys make it, having dropped six of their last seven games of the regular season.

And they needed the out- ofsorts Bulldogs, who were playing for nothing but pride, to beat St George- Illawarra in their final round clash.

So when Jensen started his drive back to Townsville that Sunday night, his mind had already drifted to thoughts of next year’s campaign.

“I had a visit with the family and when I was driving back I had that game playing on the radio,” Jensen said.

“I did’t really want to watch the game, I would have been too nervous, and I watched the game the previous week between Penrith and St George and that result had a big bearing on whether we’d make it or not, and the Panthers lost.

“So that’s why I decided to get in the car and listen to it instead.

“There was a period when St George scored and I really thought that was it.

“But then the Bulldogs came through with those two tries and I realised it wasn’t over.”

Jensen’s rise to the NRL grand final has been nothing short of spectacular.

Graduating from the Cowboys under- 20s system at the end of 2014 without an NRL contract, Jensen was instead sent over to the Townsville Blackhawks to prove his mettle in the Queensland Cup.

He was left out of the Blackhawks’ 2015 grand final side and was expected to be a fringe Q Cup player in 2016, only for a horror injury toll to hand him a regular starting spot.

Jensen squeezed everything out of his Blackhawks’ opportunity to win the confidence of Cowboys’ officials, who signed him on a one- year deal.

Fast forward 12 months and Jensen has re- signed with North Queensland to the end of 2019, and now only one win stands between him and a premiership.

“There’s no extra pressure on Corey,” Green said.

“He doesn’t have to do anything special because of that. He just has to do his job well — it’s as simple as that — and he’s been doing that for us.

“He’s probably been a great representative of the team.

“He’s been getting better each week and we just need a little bit more improvement from him again, that’s all he needs to worry about.”