North Queensland Cowboys NRL great reveals next follow Gehamat Shabasaki’s Brisbane Broncos rise from obscurity

“When you’re not playing footy, you’re going to work every day with three different environments – you’re at home, you go to work, you go to training – it’s pretty chaotic.

“Now I’m back, it’s like I’m a little kid again.”

Shibasaki joins a fraternity of late-blooming prospects who have risen from the Queensland Cup, headlined by Dolphins fullback Trai Fuller, Rabbitohs star Cody Walker and Canberra halfback Jamal Fogarty.

It begs the question, who is next? According to Cowboys premiership-winner James Tamou, he sits in Townsville’s backyard.

Dudley Dotoi came through Kirwan State High School as one of the most gifted outside backs of his age group, and was selected in the 2021 Australian Schoolboys side.

Upon graduating, he ventured to the Wests Tigers, however when his hopes did not pan out he returned to North Queensland and fought for a spot in the Blackhawks line-up alongside Shibasaki.

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While Tamou admits there were times last season the 21-year-old struggled to meet the club’s standards, he evolved – scoring 11 tries and making 13 linebreaks in 13 appearances to earn a preseason trial with South Sydney.

“I’ve been in the game a long time, and some of the stuff he does I’ve never seen before,” Tamou said.

“Rugby league’s sometimes a cruel game, I’ve seen some of the best talent come through and not be able to transition – some of the best up-and-comers are just unable to go to the next level.

“But Dudley Dotoi is a special talent, and hopefully, he can make it to that next level. His game style has stayed the same: hard running, hard to tackle, good hands, deceptively quick.

“With his attitude, to Dudley’s defence, he was going through a lot with his family and things like that, but he just sort of missed the mark a bit with the standards of the team.

“It cost him a couple of appearances, but he’s just changed dramatically, and I think it’s going to show, and it’s going to translate onto the footy field.”