When Kyle Feldt almost left the Cowboys
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2018 grand final predictions
He will forever be remembered for his last-minute try in the 2015 grand final but Kyle Feldt is just glad he rejected overtures to entice him away from the North Queensland Cowboys when he was at one of his lowest ebbs.
When Feldt re-signed with the Cowboys for three years in May of 2014 he was playing Queensland Cup after being dropped on the back of several underwhelming performances.
It was then that Cowboys assistant coach Peter Ryan tried to lure the Townsville-born winger to the ACT Brumbies as other NRL clubs circled. Feldt's response has defined his career since.
"I'd played a couple of games at the start of the year and got dropped back down to Q-Cup," Feldt told NRL.com.
"Peter Ryan gave me a call about making the changeover to rugby union. I sat down with my family and talked it over but it wasn't something I was keen on.
"The Rabbitohs saw something they liked in me and tried to lure me away from here, but I am lucky they didn't because I wouldn't be sitting here talking about winning a premiership.
"The Cowboys gave me the opportunity to make my debut in 2013 and that hit home. I am from here and I felt as though I would be letting my town and region down to leave.
"I worked extra hard to get back in the team and cement a spot, and in the last two and a half years I think I have."
Since round 24 of 2015 Feldt has been a mainstay of the Cowboys side, missing just three games through suspension.
His try in the corner against Brisbane in the 2015 grand final on the bell to level the scores will be spoken about for the rest of Feldt's life.
The subsequent extra-time field goal by Johnathan Thurston was made possible by one of Feldt's searing high kick-offs which Ben Hunt was unable to grasp.
But that magic try-scoring moment came at the end of a season which unfolded in a similar pattern to 2014 where Feldt spent a large chunk of the season out of the NRL side.
Coach Paul Green spoke to Feldt about getting the errors out of his game and becoming a more consistent footballer.
"I didn't play as many games as I would have liked in that 2015 season but it was a really good learning curve for me," Feldt said.
"Now that is under my belt I know what I've got to do to progress to being a better football player, and that's building on the little fundamentals.
"It is the little things that add up and make you a better person and player.
"I learned a lot about that from Johnno [Johnathan Thurston]. He is out there doing the extras every day after training. He has got all the accolades and has done everything in the game but he is still out there practising his catching, passing and kicking.
"No matter how good you are, you've got to work on the little things."
It is getting the little things right that has enabled Feldt to do big things in big games.
Feldt, who scored a crucial try in the 2017 preliminary final against the Sydney Roosters to get his side into the grand final, has played 13 of his 74 NRL games in the playoffs.
"I think that has helped my career significantly, just finding out early on the levels you have to go to in a finals game compared to a normal game," he said.
"The pressure and the intensity goes up in a final and the week leading up to it.
"When I do look back on my career when I am finished that try [in the 2015 decider] will be one of the highlights and I don't mind if people keep talking about it because it is something I am very proud of.
"You can win a game or lose a game in the last couple of seconds and I was lucky enough to put the game into overtime and give us the chance to win it."
Now the 25-year-old flyer has re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of the 2020 season he can look back at the rollercoaster start to his career as a godsend.
"It has done me the world of good," he said.
"I think I can continue to learn a lot under Paul Green, Morgo [Michael Morgan], Johnno and all the older boys here."
