How ‘shredded’ Cowboys star got back on track
He was sprayed by his coach on live television, was dropped from the State of Origin arena and his career looked at a crossroads after a forgettable season.
NRL
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Cowboys young gun Coen Hess binned sugar and hit the gym every day in the off-season to emerge more “shredded” than ever as he fights to win back his Queensland Origin jersey.
A lean and mean “Hess Express” is back on track following a forgettable 2019 season where he and North Queensland went off the rails.
After taking the NRL by storm in a 13-try 2017 campaign, Hess has felt the brunt of the Cowboys’ struggles over the past two years.
He only scored one try last season, was sprayed by coach Paul Green on live television, and was dropped from the State of Origin arena as his career hit a crossroads.
But the self-confessed gym junkie is back with a bang, stripping 6kg from his chiselled frame in the off-season to set himself up for a big 2020.
“I tweaked my diet a bit and I’m reaping the rewards now,” Hess told The Courier-Mail.
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“I’ve cut back on my refined sugars and am eating whole foods and natural foods rather than heavily processed.
“I live two minutes from a gym, so I was there most days in the off-season. I paid for my membership, I like being in a different environment.
“I was training with one of the personal trainers there who helped me out a fair bit.
“I find it relaxing. I can go in there, put the music on and do what I want. Afterwards you feel a lot better about yourself.
“I’m playing about six kilos lighter than I was last year.”
Hess, 23, made his NRL debut in 2015 as a teenager, but it was in North Queensland’s fairytale run to the 2017 grand final that he made a name for himself.
He earnt a State of Origin debut at 19 and became one of North Queensland’s tryscoring weapons in an outstanding 27-game season.
Hess had five Origin appearances next to his name by the end of the 2018 series and scored seven tries for the Cowboys that season, but last year would prove to be his undoing.
With the Cowboys heading to 14th spot on the ladder, Hess struggled for form and consistency, losing his Origin jersey and even finding himself filling in at centre as his season went from bad to worse.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that went wrong,” Hess said.
“I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries in the past but I had a few things I was carrying.
“When I first came on to the scene I was in a team that was always winning. When we strung a few losses together, it was uncharted waters for me.
“I didn’t cope with it well. I wasn’t really comfortable losing.
“There was a roll-on effect from that. One thing led to another and I was a bit down on confidence too.
“After you string a few losses together it becomes pretty difficult to get yourself up for a game.”
Hess eventually finished the year having played 22 games, taking his career tally to 81 and making him an established NRL player.
He had an honest post-season conversation with Green and vowed to make amends in 2020, fronting for training at a healthy 106kg.
In his first appearance of the year, Hess looked a different player at the NRL Nines in Perth and was dominant in North Queensland’s trial win against the Broncos last weekend.
He will start in the back-row for the Cowboys in Saturday night’s trial against the Storm in Melbourne and has set his sights on winning selection in the Queensland Origin team this year.
“I’ve got to step up, there are a lot of younger boys in the Cowboys squad now,” he said.
“I understand that I’m getting a bit older and some of those younger guys are looking up to me for a bit of guidance.
“I find it really pleasing to be seen like that. It will only make me better as a player.
“It hurt a lot (to be dropped), everyone wants to be playing Origin.
“That team is very difficult to get into and if you’re not playing your best footy, you don’t get picked. I could totally understand why I didn’t get picked.
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“It did hurt, but losing it gives me more motivation to get it back.
“I need to worry about my own backyard first and playing good footy for the Cowboys because that’s how I got selected in the first place. Hopefully I can get my jersey back.”
Hess has been nicknamed Ivan Drago by his teammates because of his similarity to the sculpted character from the famous Rocky boxing movie series.
And his off-season transformation hasn’t gone unnoticed by Cowboys players, who are tipping him to bounce back to his best this year.
“He looks really good,” said Cowboys star Jason Taumalolo.
“A lot of the boys are telling him to eat because he looks so shredded. He is so ripped. The boys are throwing compliments at him.
“The way he played in the last trial and Nines, I think he’s in for a big year.
“Hessy has worked really hard in the off-season and is slowly getting back to where he was when he was playing Origin.
“I’m excited to see how Hessy goes this year. I’m sure he will find his way back into a Queensland jersey.”
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