An impromptu pep talk from Broncos and now Maroons teammate Pat Carrigan last year helped set in motion Queensland rookie Gehamat Shibasaki’s remarkable rise to a dream Origin debut. Content with his life where he was balancing work and playing in the Hostplus Cup with the Townsville Blackhawks, a pointed kick to the ego that only a friend could deliver helped “light the fire” for Shibasaki to make his way back into the NRL, and now, Billy Slater’s Game Three team. “My focus was just working, playing Queensland Cup, it was good … up at the Blackhawks, they really helped me out, settling me in and giving me another shot and keeping that drive going,” Shibasaki said. “I was pretty happy with just working and playing footy … that sort of lifestyle. I was just pretty content with that. “But then some of the boys; Patty and that came to Townsville to play the Cowboys and I had a yarn to them and that just lit the fire again and I was just ‘oh I need to get back into it’. “I gave Wynnum [Manly – Broncos affiliate club] a call, which gave me the opportunity to get a pre-season (with Brisbane) and went from there. “It was sort of just a little ‘wake up to yourself' sort of thing … Me and Patty are really close, so he can tell me those sort of things, and he's like, ‘just come back for another one, just come for a train and trial, come live with me if you want’, and stuff like that. “So it ended up working alright, because (then) I was living down in Goldie and I was jumping in the car with him every day anyway (for) the pre-season, so now he's asking for fuel money. “I was pretty happy with just working and playing footy up there at the Blackhawks, the pressure of being in the NRL; I didn't really feel like going through that again. “I just felt like doing that sort of stuff (was too much) but … it was like that until the boys came up north and then that's when it made me think, ‘oh far out, I can really back myself here and go again’.” Described as a rugby league journeyman, Shibasaki – who represented the Queensland Under 20 side on multiple occasion in his younger days – has followed a path less travelled during his career, taking in time playing Japanese rugby as well as featuring in games for Newcastle, the Cowboys and one with the Rabbitohs last year when contracted to the Blackhawks. Now in his second stint with the Broncos, the club where he made his NRL debut in 2018, he is currently still only on a development contract after being upgraded from his train and replace deal he signed in pre-season. A lot of credit for his remarkable resurgence has to go to Brisbane coach Michael Maguire, who instilled belief in him during the early stages of his return. “Madge was over the moon for my selection,” Shibasaki said of the former Blues coach. “He sees the hard work that I put in and all the stuff that we've done over the pre-season and not even just on the field, off the field growing as well, trying to be a leader, so he was over the moon for me.” While reaping the rewards now, initially it was a humbling pre-season experience for Shibasaki - who has Torres Strait Islands and Japanese heritage - who struggled early, but one that he said set him up to succeed and is now helping him live out his rugby league fairytale. “First day, I got sent from the field because I was unfit … I got sent because I couldn't finish the session … and then that made the pre-season from November to Chrissy even longer,” Shibasaki said. “(So) I trained through the Chrissy break, and then that first session back, I had a conversation with Madge and he just said, ‘keep working hard, you’ve come back fit’, so that made me more confident in my own ability. “I just knew that the footy was coming around and I was pretty confident and fit at that point. I just knew from then, after Christmas, I just knew that if I keep staying in it and my attitude towards training was good, something will come out of it. “I was really just happy to get a contract really, but for him to say you are playing Round 1, that was pretty good.” With players of the talent of Selwyn Cobbo and Deine Mariner waiting in the wings at the Broncos, Shibasaki said his spot in the team was not guaranteed and they were pushing him to be the best he could be. “We've got some outstanding players in the background, so we're all fighting each other for a spot, so (that’s) me continuously working hard and my attitude of training and in the game as well,” Shibasaki said. “(I am) just focusing on my own role and what's important at that current moment; that's all I can control. “I can't control anyone else's decision, so that's another big thing I learnt in the pre-season; doing things that I can control and that's preparing me best for whenever we play.” Embracing that competitive environment also has the centre confident he is ready for Origin now to face off against either Latrell Mitchell or Stephen Crichton. “I'm prepared, I've worked hard through the pre-season and I'm prepared,” Shibasaki said “To come back to the NRL; Madge just said to me ‘if you prep well, if an opportunity arises, then you'll be ready’. “I feel like I'm prepared … from my pre-season, I did a lot of hard work, so I feel like I'm ready.” Source: NRL.com