With his maiden try for his new team now under his belt, Cowboys forward Jack Gosiewski said he was eager to tick off another first as he faces off against his former side in the Dragons for the first time.
Gosiewski left the Dragons after playing four games for the club last season to pursue a new opportunity in Townsville, before crossing for his first – if somewhat lucky – try in Cowboys colours as his side upset the Roosters at Magic Round.
“It was good to get one out of the way, I wasn't completely confident I scored, so had to wait for the replay,” Gosiewski said.
“I knew it was going to be 50-50, because I could feel his hand there so it was touch-and-go, but happy to get that try though.”
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While it was a tough start to his Cowboys career, where a knee injury suffered in Round 2 of the Pre-Season Challenge against the Broncos delayed his opportunity to make his official club debut, Gosiewski has since featured in four matches since making his first appearance in Round 7 against the Warriors.
“It's been really good (since joining the Cowboys), I was injured for the first seven weeks I think so I just had to bide my time there a little bit, but I'm really enjoying it,” Gosiewski said.
“I like the coaching staff, like the players, like the way we train, the facilities; where I live is really nice, the weather – so everything's good and I think everything being good away from footy helps you to play well so I'm really enjoying it.
“It was an easy transition. Everyone was very welcoming and I like playing golf and there's a good group of us who play golf, so I slotted in there really easily, so I am really enjoying it.”
Despite his side’s next opponents the Dragons struggling for wins in recent weeks, having lost their past five games by a margin of six points or less, Gosiewski was not taking them lightly, as he knew they would be despite for a win and were in a similar situation to his own side who had endured patchy form in the lead up to their dominant against the Roosters.
“We're obviously both not sitting where you want it on the ladder and we've both had some games where we've just lost, but it will be an important game definitely for both teams, so I'm sure we'll see a good game,” Gosiewski said.
“(But) to be honest, we won’t really be focusing on them that much, I think this week we really just focused on ourselves, we worked really hard on ourselves and wanted to show good character and resilience out there. So I think we'll do that again next week.
“We'll have a look at the Dragons, but it'll be solely focused on how we play, not, not how they play.”
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However, the Mullumbimby Giants junior did admit he was looking forward to the challenge of facing off against some of his former team mates.
“I think the one of the main benefits about coming up against your old team is you know the individuals really well and how they play, so that will obviously be a bit of an advantage knowing how each individual will play, but looking forward to the challenge,” Gosiewski said.
“I think there's no easy games in the NRL and they will definitely show up ... and they defend well, so it will be a good challenge.”