MEMO: Queensland coach Kevin Walters. Just a quiet tip … Coen Hess is ready for State of Origin.
The 114kg monster has submitted his most compelling case yet for a maiden Maroons jumper, terrorising the Titans to give the Cowboys bragging rights in the Queensland derby.
With Walters watching on as a commentator for Fox Sports, Hess didn’t so much knock on the Queensland selection door as smash it down as the Cowboys prevailed 32-26 at Cbus Super Stadium.
The 20-year-old is likened in looks to Rocky IV character Ivan Drago and he delivered the knockout blows, posting a double to end North Queensland’s six-year drought on the Gold Coast.
It was a night for the rookies, with debutant winger Gideon Gela-Mosby and freakish fullback Kalyn Ponga, who turns 19 this week, touching down.
But Hess was the dominator. He carried four defenders across in the 61st minute before crashing over again 10 minutes later to kill off a plucky Titans outfit which battled bravely under fire.
The Maroons are on the lookout for fresh blood this season. Corey Parker has retired. Injured Cowboys enforcer Matt Scott is gone for the season and his Maroons engine-room partner, Nate Myles, is struggling for form.
Enter Hess. His bullocking frame would give NSW nightmares off the bench and when he speared through for his second try last night, Maroons legend Gary Belcher roared in commentary: “Kevvie is scribbling in his Maroons notebook.”
The back-rower now has nine tries in 13 NRL games and he injected the forward power on a night where Johnathan Thurston and Kalyn Ponga delivered the backline panache.
The Cowboys weren’t at their best but they were never really troubled, leading 20-12 at half-time before Hess helped nail the coffin shut after the break.
Possession is nine-tenths of the law in rugby league and without it, the Titans floundered as the Cowboys ran amok. It took just four minutes for Johnathan Thurston to cross, pouncing on a Jake Granville grubber, before adding two penalty goals for a 10-0 lead inside 18 minutes.
The Cowboys basically owned the first 40 minutes _ remarkably completing all 18 sets _ but the 2015 premiers are not without flaws.
Exhibit A was a 10-minute period midway through the opening stanza when Paul Green’s troops simply switched off. The Titans had two genuine red-zone opportunities. Both times they converted. Incredibly, the Cowboys trailed 12-10 after half an hour and it took some magic from two young guns to arrest the slide.
First, speedy winger Gela-Mosby crashed over on debut before Thurston delivered a superb inside ball for Ponga, who scored the first try of his career to give the Cowboys a 20-12 half-time lead.
The Titans refused to yield in the second half but the Cowboys always had their measure. Thurston may be the king but Hess is an Origin star in the making.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 32 (C Hess 2 G Gela-Mosby K Ponga J Thurston tries J Thurston 6 goals) bt GOLD COAST 26 (D Copley 2 T Roberts T Roberts-Davis D Vidot tries A Taylor 3 goals) at Cbus Super Stadium. Referee: Grant Atkins, Matt Noyen. Crowd: 17,647.
Originally published as Cowboy bolts into Origin frame after taming Titans
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