Hess in top shape for backrow battle
THE fiercer the competition for spots the better the team is going to play.
It is a sentiment that is driving Coen Hess in the 2020 preseason as he seeks to cement himself in the North Queensland Cowboys’ backrow.
It has also driven him to new highs – or better yet, new lows – off the field.
Hess has shed the weight and shredded the muscle in the Cowboys off-season.
While the 23-year-old was unsure of his ideal playing weight, he admitted he was “a bit too heavy” in 2019.
Now, he said he was feeling “probably the best” he has.
“I’d become a bit stiff so this year I’ve focused on slimming down,” Hess said.
“I’ve had a chat to the club and told them it’s (my weight) just a number at the end of the day, so whatever I feel comfortable at it doesn’t really matter what I stand on the scale at.
“As long as I’m mentally prepared and feeling good that’s all that really matters.”
Hess has worked hard on enhancing his endurance and mobility on the field and is braced for the battle to secure a Round 1 jersey against the Brisbane Broncos.
He will face strong competition for a spot on the right edge but he said that would only make the team better in the long run.
“Coops and Wrighty (Shane Wright) have got their hands on the position at the moment, and it’s up to guys like myself, Dunny (Mitch Dunn) and Benny Condon to put pressure on them to lift the intensity of the team,” Hess said.
“Everyone wants to be playing Round 1 so everyone is training really hard at the moment.”
The leaner and meaner Hess will have the chance to showcase his off-season exploits when he travels with the Cowboys to the NRL Nines in Perth, which starts on February 14.
The versatile forward has been part of these competitions in the past and knows a thing or two about how the game changes when free-flowing football becomes the focus.
While he said any spontaneous flick-passes would be far from his mind, the chance to play this brand of rugby league enabled him to take his mind off the everyday demands of professional sport and experience a different game all together.
“It’s really exciting for that reason, guys tend to offload it a bit more and it’s a bit more of an expansive type of footy. That’s what the crowds want to see,” Hess said.
“I don’t think you’ll be seeing much of a flick pass from me personally.
“Dunny was actually practising a few out there (yesterday), but for me personally if you see a flick pass I think I might be hooked straight off the field.”
The Cowboys won the inaugural Nines competition in 2014.