Hamiso’s exit opens door for Chester
THE departure of Hamiso Tabuai-fidow has opened a path for Cowboys young gun Thomas Chester to stake his claim as Scott Drinkwater’s deputy in North Queensland.
In round 18, Chester became Cowboy No.305 but he will enter next season as a member of a club no NRL player hopes to join for long: the one-and-done club.
Since the club was founded in 1995, 21 Cowboys have played just one game for North Queensland, and Chester is the latest.
The 21-year-old has vowed to give his all in the pre-season to earn his precious second chance in the match-day 17.
Tabuai-fidow’s absence has opened up an opportunity to claim his spot on the Cowboys interchange bench and
Chester, the son of a bull rider and rodeo clown, plans to grab it with both hands.
“I’ll definitely come in thinking that I’ve earned my spot and I can hopefully press forward into the side this year,” Chester said.
“Hopefully I am the secondstring fullback, but he (TabuaiFidow) played a lot of No.14 last year and I’m a bit of a utility myself. Hopefully I could step into that role.”
Chester’s multi-positional education has resulted in him slotting into the centres during the pre-season, while his performances as a half for Ignatius Park College first put him on the Cowboys’ radar.
In his NRL debut, Chester was injected into the fray as a middle forward for 12 chaotic minutes against the Sharks.
Versatility aside, Chester sees himself as a fullback first.
“I’ve been training all over the shop but I think I’m a fullback,” he said.
“But if I get thrown around wherever, I don’t mind.
“The thing that inspires me is how good Drinky (Drinkwater) is, and if I want to be at this club long-term I have to work pretty hard to somehow get in front of Drinky one day. He’s an unreal player.”
Train-and-triallist Julian Christian is also competing to be Drinkwater’s understudy.