Corey Jensen on track for ISC success following impressive Cowboys trial

COREY Jensen’s NRL ambitions are certainly on track following his fearless upfront performance against the Cowboys on Thursday night.

Cowboys trial

COREY Jensen’s NRL ambitions are certainly on track following his fearless upfront performance against the Cowboys on Thursday night.

The Blackhawks forward made his first run-on appearance in two years and did it against the Test frontrow of Matt Scott and James Tamou, holding his own in a performance that typified the Blackhawks relentless determination and application.

Jensen’s start was a further indication of how highly the Blackhawks rate the Bowen junior, who was left out of last year’s grand final team, and Jensen’s stocks may rise even further given the uncertainty surrounding injured captain and ISC prop of the year Daniel Beasley.

Beasley suffered a leg injury in the Blackhawks’ trial win over the Northern Pride last week and did not play against the Cowboys, with coaching staff still unsure whether he will return to action come Round 1.

“He’s our captain, he’s our leader and he’s what the club’s built on, so to see him go down like that ... I just tried to pick up from where he left off and do my best,” Jensen said.

The Blackhawks suffered further injury scares on Thursday, with Moses Pangai (ribs), Michael Parker-Walshe (shoulder) and Temone Power all under watch, but Jensen said confidence was still sky-high among the Blackhawks after matching it with the NRL premiers.

“We’ll take a lot out of that,” he said.

“We spoke during the week about being strong defensively and I thought we were like that last week against the Northern Pride and we backed it up again.

“I thought the boys really dug in deep and they really picked up another level.

“It’s blokes like that you look up to and watch on TV, and you try to emulate their game, especially someone like Matt Scott who plays in the position I play.

“I look up to him a lot so it was a bit daunting when it first started but it was a good experience.”

A Queensland under-16 and under-18 representative, Jensen went through the Cowboys under-20s system before linking with the Blackhawks last year for their inaugural season, where he gradually worked himself in from the fringe to become a rising ISC star.

Jensen, 22, will be in the same boat as a lot of his Blackhawks teammates this year by trying to attract NRL interest, but ISC success is a firm priority for Jensen.

“I thought my last few games from last year were my best and it just so happened that I missed out on that grand final,” he said.

“I guess it was an upsetting moment and it was something I wanted to be there for.

“But it was a learning experience and I’m trying to take that experience into this year.

“Right now it’s about trying to knuckly down a starting spot and play strong, consistent footy, and hopefully I’m playing well enough to get picked up by an NRL side towards the end of year, but we’ll see what happens.”

Originally published as Corey Jensen on track for ISC success following impressive Cowboys trial