Jason Taumalolo reveals how he nearly left the North Queensland Cowboys

  • 30/09/2017

North Queensland Cowboys enforcer Jason Taumalolo has revealed he came close to leaving the club following a feud with a former coach.

Disagreements with former Cowboys coach Neil Henry, along with the struggles of homesickness and stints in reserve grade nearly drove the Kiwis forward away.

It was the appointment of current coach Paul Green which ultimately kept Taumalolo at the Townsville-based club.

"There was a lot happening at the club, I was in and out of first grade, I wasn't really getting the opportunities that I thought I would be getting," says Taumalolo.

"I was close to leaving the club but they told me that we were getting a new coach in and they got Greeny (Paul Green) in.

"I had a meeting with him before preseason and he spoke about how excited he was to have me in his team and how he wanted to use me.

"From then on I haven't looked back."

Cowboys coach Paul Green.
Cowboys coach Paul Green. Photo credit: Getty Images

The 10-Test Kiwi had offers from other NRL clubs and now it has been revealed the All Blacks tried to nab the Auckland-born star too with an eye on the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

In a report by the Courier Mail, New Zealand Rugby bosses launched a "secret approach" to persuade Taumalolo to swap codes.

"At the time I didn't think about it but I had a few offers from clubs in Sydney and especially back home too," he says.

"I was close to leaving but obviously I hung out for one more year and that was when Greeny became head coach and I haven't looked back since."

In fact Green has been very influential in Taumaolo's having already won a premiership ring and a Dally M medal for player of the year.

Taumaolo will be hopeful he can win his second premiership ring on Sunday night when the Cowboys face the Melbourne Storm in the 2017 Grand Final.

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