Cowboys’ forward Coen Hess reveals army boot camp that ‘REWIRED all of us mentally’

The North Queensland Cowboys have been the shock package of the NRL in 2022 and now hard-running forward Coen Hess has revealed the physical and mental training that has the club primed to content for a second premiership.

After a dismal 15th place finish in 2021 that included a 10-game losing streak, the men from North Queensland became hot wooden spoon favourites. 

The additions of veteran Peter Hiku and former Cronulla premiership halfback Chad Townsend – who had been dumped to reserve grade then shipped to New Zealand – did little to inspire confidence.

Now, the Cowboys are riding high in second place on the NRL ladder with just two rounds to go in the regular season and a top four finish firmly in their grasp.

Coach Todd Payten has previously spoken about the physical nature of the pre-season to prepare his charges for 2022’s dramatic turnaround. 

‘I thought we had enough ability, we had some inexperience and I just thought we were losing games in periods of matches rather than moments,’ Payten said on NRL 360.

‘We needed to toughen our guys up mentally and physically and we just challenged them day after day.

‘We threw some curve balls at them at different stages. We’ve got Castle Hill here — we ran up that three times without any warning.

‘We got them in really early in the mornings for two reasons; to beat the heat is one and the other is to make them a little uncomfortable about time management, getting out of bed and preparing for training.

‘We did a lot of contact, a lot of tackling and we just made them do things that they didn’t want to do day after day. At the moment it’s showing that it worked.’

Now, Hess has revealed a secret boot camp in the rainforest of Tully in far north Queensland was the catalyst for the Cowboys’ revival.

Not only were the players flogged to their physical extremes, but they were challenged mentally under duress to emulate decision-making in crunch moments of NRL games.

‘Toddy is trying to drive this idea of ‘jump the fence’. For us that is all about going from attack to defence, and doing it well,’ Hess told Code Sports.

‘That is where we came unstuck the past couple of years. We were getting caught transitioning between the two so I think the army camp in Tully was designed to challenge us mentally to go, go, go.

‘The army people specialise in jungle operations so it was a very humid climate and we alternated between physical and mental challenges. We did that for what felt like 10 hours, had a bit of a break, and did it all over again.

‘Toddy rewired all of us mentally. He got us to enjoy hard work and solving problems together under pressure.’

Reuben Cotter is one of the toughest players at the Cowboys and made his State of Origin debut for the Queensland Maroons this year

Hess said the mental exercises were the same ones used to train Australian Defence Force personnel who needed to make snap decisions in do-or-die situations.  

‘There were memory tests and we also spent a lot of time on secret hand signals,’ Hess said.

‘The idea with that is if the crowd is so loud and we can’t communicate verbally we have little techniques, like what the army use, where we can be quiet but still get the message across.

‘We were taken into all these different rooms and there were 30 objects on a table that you had to memorise. That reflected back to us memorising plays and sets in footy.

The Cowboys have become one of the teams to beat in the NRL and will play finals footy after many thought they would collect the dreaded wooden spoon

‘It was all subliminal messages relating back to football life. With the army, in their field, it is do or die.

‘You need mental perseverance to push through pain and to keep believing you can win through. We need the same mentality when the game looks lost.’

The ultimate proof in the pudding that the training was effective was when the Cowboys launched an incredible comeback to beat the Manly Sea Eagles 28-26 in a blockbuster clash at 4 Pines Park on June 17.

Trailing 26-12 with seven minutes left on the clock, the Cowboys scored three quick tries to surge home and claim a vital road win.

‘The Cowboys win another one with an incredible – if not stupendous – comeback,’ Andrew Voss said in commentary for Fox League.

Coen Hess and Chad Townsend of the Cowboys celebrate after a memorable victory

‘Chad Townsend has this saying that goes, ‘Win the game early and score the points late’ and that is what happened in that Manly game,’ Hess said.

‘You can relate it back to the camp where we implemented a few of those tools and strategies.

‘No one panicked or was stressed. We played free-flowing footy. We communicated and remembered what works for us.’