Kyle Feldt bounces back from State of Origin omission to push case for future Maroons call-up

KYLE Feldt claims the disappointment over his State of Origin omission has only steeled his desire to one day wear the Queensland jumper.

COWBOYS winger Kyle Feldt claims the disappointment over his State of Origin omission has only steeled his desire to one day wear the Queensland jumper.

Feldt was on the cusp of a Maroons call-up before his first-half nightmare against the Broncos cost him any hope of making a debut in Origin I.

His performance in Saturday night’s 14-10 Round 12 loss to the Dragons at WIN Stadium typified his mental toughness and why Queensland coach Kevin Walters views him as a future Maroon.

Kyle Feldt flies high to score a try for the Cowboys.

Despite copping a head knock in the opening minutes, Feldt soared spectacularly to score from a Lachlan Coote bomb in the 37th minute, made three tackle busts and defused several high kicks in windy conditions in Wollongong.

Feldt is entitled to rue his three dropped balls against the Broncos 48 hours before the selection of the Maroons team, but the 24-year-old has put his Origin snub in perspective.

“I wasn’t too disappointed to miss out,” he said.

“It wasn’t really in my hands.

“You can’t really ponder on missing teams, things happen for a reason and I’ll learn from it.

‘‘This will make me work harder and hopefully I get a call up next year.”

Feldt said a midweek heart-to-heart with Cowboys coach Paul Green put him in the right frame of mind to face the Dragons.

He also received support from Coote, who offered to help Feldt with his defusal of high kicks.

Kyle Feldt scores a try for the Cowboys against the Dragons.