How Melbourne Storm rejection pushed PNG weapon into Cowboys arms

The young winger admitted to being in tears when he was cut, but has used his painful exclusion as motivation to fuel the form that earned him a Cowboys contract. Read his story here.

Robert Derby at full time in the NRL pre-season match between the Cowboys and the Dolphins. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cowboys hopeful Robert Derby has revealed the pain he felt after being dropped by the Melbourne Storm and Sunshine Coast Falcons, and how he used it as motivation to make his Cowboys debut.

Derby has been named as part of a new-look Townsville Blackhawks side that will kick off their season on Saturday.

He was signed by Melbourne out of St Augustine’s College in Cairns and joined the Falcons when he was 17, but his time on the Sunshine Coast didn’t go to plan.

The electrifying outside back recalled being in tears as he was told the pathway he was on wasn’t going to work out.

“I was young and stuffed around a little bit, I was in the wrong mindset,” Derby said.

Robert Derby runs upfield during the NRL Trial Match between the Cowboys and Dolphins. (Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images)

“But it was a really good lesson because as soon as I got dropped it just clicked in my head that I had lost that opportunity.

“I could have easily been there, but I was being a bit selfish and just not really wanting to have a go at it at training and everything.

“I broke away from that and the Storm saw that, so they just dropped me from that.

“I was in tears the day I got called and they said, ‘this isn’t the pathway for you, but hopefully you can move on to another club.’”

Robert Derby of Papua New Guinea runs the ball during the Test Match between Papua New Guinea and Fiji on June 25, 2022. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The heartache of rejection fuelled a change in Derby’s attitude that saw him quickly rise through the ranks as a 19-year-old at the Northern Pride.

“My manager organised for me to play for the under-21s Pride and I had a decent season so I was asked to come and do a season with the Cowboys Young Guns,” Derby said.

“I was playing for the Pride and training here at the Young Guns so I was going back and forth to the Pride each weekend to play.

“Initially I was just supposed to play 21s and maybe one or two Cup games, but I played my first 21s game and I played pretty good so I got the call-up to play in the Cup team the next week.”

Derby spent the rest of the season playing in the Queensland Cup.

Dane Campbell (right) during his time at the Sunshine Coast Falcons, 2014. With former Caloundra coach Danny Gray (left). Photo: Nicola Brander / Sunshine Coast Daily

That earned him the respect of the same man who dropped him from the Falcons – current Cowboys recruitment manager Dane Campbell.

“It was actually Dane that let me go, and then I think he saw that I had finally kicked in and then brought me back last year,” Derby said.

“I got asked to train with the first grade team (Cowboys) once a week, then that picked up to training full time this year with first grade.”

The young winger turned 21 earlier this week and he has already taken his game to the world stage with Papua New Guinea in their mid-season Pacific test against the Fiji Bati last year.

Derby also caught the attention of many pundits earlier this year in Cairns when he scored two tries in a trial match against the Dolphins.

Originally published as How Melbourne Storm rejection pushed PNG weapon into Cowboys arms