North Queensland Toyota Cowboys Young Guns rising star Tom Chester has been promoted to the NRL squad for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
A home-grown North Queenslander, Chester has been one of the standouts of the Young Guns program since its reformation prior to last season.
Born and bred in Townsville, Chester attended Ignatius Park College before graduating to the Cowboys Young Guns in 2021.
Chester spent the 2022 pre-season on a training block with the NRL squad and instantly impressed Todd Payten and his coaching staff with his tenacious style of play. He was one of the Cowboys’ best in the trial victory over the Rabbitohs in Cairns and has been in tremendous form to start the season for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup.
The 20-year-old came through the junior grades as a half, but has transitioned to fullback in the past 12 months.
“Tommy has earnt the right to join our Top 30,” Cowboys Recruitment Manager Dane Campbell said.
“He has come through our Young Guns program and has been incredible with his attitude and commitment to training. He earnt the respect of Todd and his coaching staff in the pre-season and also played well in the trial in Cairns, which gave us the confidence he was ready to graduate to the NRL squad.
“We believe fullback is Tommy’s best position, but he does have the versatility to play in the halves, hooker and potentially even lock.”
