JUSTIN O’Neill is entitled to feel like the potential Powerball winner who finished one number shy of a million-dollar windfall.
In a footballing context, O’Neill believed he was about to hit the jackpot when he received a phone call to join Queensland’s State of Origin camp before the series opener in 2013.
Maroons winger Darius Boyd was battling an ankle injury and looked no hope of being fit.
O’Neill was rushed into Camp Maroon as 18th man.
So near, yet so far.
He could sniff a dream Origin debut.
At training, he ran in place of Boyd, who watched on with ice strapped to his ankle. Maroons coach Mal Meninga even gave him instructions for what would be the biggest night of his career.
But just as O’Neill dared to dream, Boyd made a miracle recovery.
His ankle healed.
He ran out in Game One.
The Powerball numbers had fallen for Boyd … and O’Neill was left to lament the Origin jackpot that faded before his eyes.
Maroons hierarchy tried to soothe O’Neill’s pain, assuring him his Origin baptism would one day come.
Three years later, the kid from Hughenden in north Queensland is still waiting for his Powerball moment.
Like an habitual punter who realises his luck has finally deserted him, O’Neill could be forgiven for wanting to give up on his Origin dream, but the Cowboys flyer is determined to wear Maroon.
“I will never give up hope of playing Origin,” said O’Neill, who has been a regular visitor to Queensland’s Emerging Origin camps, the finishing school for Maroons-in-waiting.
“I haven’t spoken to Kevvie Walters (new Maroons coach) since the Emerging Origin camp (in January), but it would be great to step up and challenge myself in that arena.
“I will always have the mindset that I will play my best no matter what. Origin is the next step up from NRL and I have that Queensland jumper in my sights.
“The Emerging camp is a great stepping stone for players. You familiarise yourself with the staff and you get to see how the coaches conduct themselves in an Origin camp, which helps prepare you for the senior team.”
O’Neill recalls his brief stint in Camp Maroon on standby for Boyd as an invaluable experience, even if it didn’t lead to a Queensland debut.
“It was exciting but at the same time I was pretty nervous going into camp,” he said.
“I didn’t even expect to be a look-in for the side, but Darius Boyd had an ankle problem.
“When I got the call-up, I was nervous. I didn’t expect it. But to see how the boys went about training and the week itself … it was very professional and a real eye-opener, just a great experience.”
A premiership winner at Melbourne in 2012, O’Neill had a rocky start upon his arrival at the Cowboys last year.
His club debut against the Roosters was a nightmare, but O’Neill finished the season with a premiership ring and has continued his surge in 2016, playing career-best football on North Queensland’s right edge.
It is the type of form that convinced Cowboys recruitment boss Peter Parr to poach O’Neill from Melbourne and he has no doubt the tryscoring centre or winger is ready for the code’s toughest arena.
“Justin would handle Origin, no doubt,” Parr said.
“He had a rough start at our club but he doesn’t get enough credit for the way he has turned things around.
“Not many players in the game can say they have won two premierships and scored a try in both grand-final appearances.
“Justin has been one of our best players this season and is a real professional. If he’s eventually picked for Origin, he certainly won’t let anyone down in the Queensland jumper.”
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