A bond formed while both were recovering through ACL injuries has Cowboys duo Tom Chester and Heilum Luki primed to grab hold of the opportunity ahead of them as the club fights for finals.
North Queensland put their destiny back into their own hands with their Round 23 win over the Titans, a victory that was the sort of response needed following their record 82-12 loss to the Roosters.
The pair played their roles, with Chester helping set the momentum with 213 run metres with eight tackle breaks, while Luki crossed for two tries, one late in each half.
Now back in the top eight, the side just need to keep winning, starting with their trip to Sydney to take on the Eels on Saturday.
“I think it is about building consistency,” Chester said.
“When we put it together, we are a pretty good footy side, but when we don't, it is the complete opposite.
“Consistency comes down to our starts and being physical.
“It starts with our training. When we go hard and bash each other up, I feel like we come out on the field and do the same thing.
“It is about how we go about our business away from game day.
“This week (before the Titans) we went pretty hard and we started the game very physical.”
To be in the finals contention this year has been boost for the duo, who have suffered multiple season-ending ACL injuries between them, missing all of the 2025 season as they both recovered from their second occurrence of the injury.
Fittingly, both made their comebacks in the Round 1 match in Las Vegas earlier this year, with their form during this season seeing them in the Origin conversion for the Maroons, with Luki selected in the Game Two extended squad.
“I am just stoked to be playing footy again after I sat out pretty much the last couple of years,” Chester said.
“I had 600 days without playing a game of NRL.
“My family is a big reason (to help get through the dark times) and my partner.
“And I had big Heilum Luki next to me (in rehab).
“That makes the tough times a bit easier and he has probably become one of my best mates.
“There is a positive out of all that.
“It was a fair while between NRL games but I have only missed one game this year which was good.
“(Luki) is an absolute athlete. He is a beast.
“I am just glad to see him go well.”
Heilum Luki 2nd Try
For Luki, the chance is there to do something special with the side – as long as they could make it into the top eight at the end of the regular season.
“Definitely, I think we can,” Luki said.
“I think we've got a lot of talent throughout our side.
“I think it's just important that we put it together.
“I think when we're playing our style of footy and we're focusing on ourselves, I think we can definitely go all the way.
“We've shown throughout the year that we can defend really well, it's just doing it for the whole 80 minutes.
“I think it's important that we just focus on week-by-week, not look too far ahead.
“I think we just (need to) take it week by week, focus on what we need to focus on, get back to doing our review and just trying to build each week.”
Match: Eels v Cowboys
Round 24 -
home Team
Eels
13th Position
away Team
Cowboys
8th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
