Cowboys coach Todd Payten revealed the extreme lengths young gun Tom Dearden was willing to go to play finals football after suffering a ruptured testicle in Round 23.
The 21-year-old copped a wayward knee from Warriors backrower Jack Murchie and shrugged off the blow, going home that night without any complaints.
The next morning the young gun turned up to the Cowboys’ recovery session, explaining to club doctors one of his testicles was incredibly swollen.
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Dearden was rushed to hospital and was operated on only a few hours later — and Payten revealed his playmaker was willing to sacrifice a testicle in order to play finals football.
“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 on Triple M.
“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.”
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Luckily, Dearden’s testicle was able to be saved, returning to the field after missing only one game in his side’s big win over an understrength Panthers.
North Queensland went on to finish third on the competition ladder, booking a final against the Sharks at Pointsbet Stadium.
After making a mid-season switch from the Broncos, Dearden has enjoyed his best NRL season to date — earning a Maroons debut on the series decider.
In that game he starred, leading Fox League’s Cooper Cronk to label him “bulletproof”.
“He is only five foot tall but he walked out onto Suncorp looking like he was seven foot tall and bulletproof,” Cronk said.
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