HESS EXPRESS ON TRACK FOR GAME ONE
Coach confidence lift for recalled forward
HE was dropped for the end of the Cowboys season, but Coen Hess never lost belief in himself and his ability.
It is belief that has given Maroons coach Wayne Bennett the guile to go against the grain and pick the backrower in the starting side for the Origin series opener in Adelaide next week.
Now Hess is determined to fly high and pay back the faith.
BELIEF got Coen Hess back in the Queensland State of Origin squad and now it has landed the Cowboys star in the starting 17.
A harsh season in North Queensland coincided with the 24-year-old being dropped by interim coach Josh Hannay, with poor defensive reads and a lack of consistent involvement with the ball cited as reasons for the axing.
The club’s former mentor even went as far as saying perhaps his barnstorming forward was thrust into the interstate spotlight too early, and had been burdened by expectation since he last pulled on the Maroon jersey in 2018.
But it did little to deter Wayne Bennett from recalling Hess and now he will line up in the backrow come November 4.
It took a while for the Cowboy to answer Bennett’s call to arms, having “screened him a few times” before picking up the phone, given he did not recognise the number.
However, he finally responded and the master coach’s belief in him from the outset is what has stood out the most to the five-time Queensland representative.
“I wasn’t playing the best footy, as everyone would probably know, but when Wayne did call he pretty much just said he was picking me because he had belief in me,” Hess said.
“For him to say that, with the kind of coach that he is, that’s what really stuck out to me and gave me a lot of confidence.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do here (in camp) … I think he’s just trying to put a bit more confidence back in myself.”
Hess will start with the No. 12 jumper on his back, joined in the forwards by a fellow debutant in Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
Sydney Roosters prop Lindsay Collins and Rabbitohs hit man Jadyn SU’A have also earned maiden appearance for Queensland coming off the interchange.
In total, eight players will play their first State of Origin matches, following a very similar narrative to Bennett’s 2001-winning Maroons side that featured 10 debutants.
When Hess last stepped into the Origin cauldron, he was surrounded by a host of NRL legends in Johnathan Thurston, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis.
Queensland have long loved to wear the underdog tag and they are very much against the odds to prevent a hat-trick of New South Wales victories, and Hess said that was exactly where they wanted to be.
“When I came in we had a squad that had Cameron Smith, JT and those sorts of players so I was just coming in to do a role,” he said.
“Obviously we don’t have that kind of calibre, or those legends, in the squad anymore but I think it is really exciting the players we have now.”