Star North Queensland Cowboys five-eighth Tom Dearden was willing to sacrifice his ruptured testicle if it meant assurance he would play finals.
The 21-year-old sustained the injury in round 23 against the Warriors and played on for 50 minutes with it, scoring twice.
If that's not enough to prove his toughness, he returned after only a one-week absence last round in a win over the Penrith Panthers.
Now his coach Todd Payten has made the youngster look even more passionate when he revealed the lengths Dearden was willing to go to be involved in the finals in an interview with Triple M.
“He’s fine. A really uncomfortable injury I’d imagine. He’s a really tough kid. He was chomping at the bit to play,” Payten said.
“Truth be told, when he met with the surgeon, the first thing he said was, ‘If I’m going to miss a month, I want you to chop it off.’”
“That’s how much playing finals meant to him. I nearly fell off my chair when I got told that.”
Ultimately such drastic measures didn't need to be taken, but the youngster being that committed to the cause says a lot about how much he wants to win.
The Maroons half was named North Queensland's players player of the season on Sunday so it's clear his teammates are happy to have him back.
Dearden is named to start against the Cronulla Sharks this Saturday at PointsBet Stadium in a qualifying final, with a week off and direct access to the preliminary finals on the line.
