By Nick Wright
Suffering two broken arms as he fights for his NRL future has been the least of Jack Gosiewski’s concerns.
Since arriving at the Brisbane Broncos, life has been “chaotic” in the most heartbreaking of ways, he reveals, as he prepares for his third game back from the second of those major injuries.
Jack Gosiewski for the Brisbane Broncos.Credit: NRL Photos
“I lost my father, so that was a tough time,” the edge forward said. “I missed not playing football, but I had other things going on in life that were extremely tough.
“The injury was nothing to me. It happened pretty fast.”
Gosiewski only arrived at Red Hill after seeking a release from the North Queensland Cowboys on compassionate grounds, as his mother also passed away.
“Since I have been at the club … I have had two broken arms, lost both parents and opened a business, so it has been chaotic,” he said.
“The only reason I am saying it now is because I am proud of the way I have held myself and still been able to play football.”
Gosiewski said his late parents “are a big part of my life and I think about them going into every game”.
Such personal turmoil – Gosiewski has managed just 28 games between 2021 and 2024 across four clubs – has made his rise back to the NRL all the more miraculous.
Both Gosiewski and Gehamat Shibasaki were shock inclusions in Brisbane coach Michael Maguire’s round one State of Origin squad, and each scored against the Roosters.
Josiah Karapani has followed suit, going from a Queensland Cup regular to unseating former Maroons star Selwyn Cobbo.
Cobbo will return for the first time since round 13 at fullback in place of Maroons 18th man Reece Walsh, while Deine Mariner replaces Shibasaki in the centres.
Karapani, who has scored five tries in his three games since replacing Cobbo, said Shibasaki’s journey from reserve-grade slugger to the Origin furnace – while still on a development deal – had served as an inspiration to him.
“I just wanted to be ready because you never know what can happen. You have to be ready for that next step and once the opportunity comes, you have to take it,” Karapani said.
“With Shibba, far out, he has done so much for the team. There would be people unsure of what our coach was doing adding him to the team.
“I said to him after the game [against the Warriors] ‘you will probably have a crack with the Maroons’, and he was like ‘nah, doubting it’, but the fact he is playing now is great.”
While Karapani has secured a two-year deal at the Broncos, with Cobbo departing for the Dolphins in 2026, Gosiewski is still waiting to determine his future.
The 31-year-old joins fellow forwards Fletcher Baker, Jaiyden Hunt, Corey Jensen and Kobe Hetherington as yet to secure deals beyond 2025, with Brisbane bracing for a potential squad facelift.
Gosiewski desires to remain in Brisbane, after he and his partner opened Chargrill Charlie’s chicken shop in New Farm.
“The plan is to stay here. We put that on hold while I was injured ... I am sure those conversations will start to come now,” Gosiewski said ahead of Friday’s clash with the Bulldogs.
“I have come back, and we are winning again, which is good. I can’t say it is anything I have done, but it is good to be in the right moments.
“I am just enjoying my football and doing my role as best I can.”
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