Nic Lenaz was meant to be pouring beers at The Beach Hotel in Townsville on Sunday. Instead he made his NRL debut at CommBank Stadium.

The Cowboys are navigating a tricky injury period at the moment which got even worse when Tom Mikaele and Harrison Edwards were ruled out of last week’s clash with the Eels.

That meant coach Todd Payten was pretty much down to his last man standing — 22-year-old Lenaz, who has been working as a bartender to supplement his $1,200-a-week train-and-trial contract.

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Not that Lenaz is a slouch by any means. The Hills Bulls junior captained Manly’s Jersey Flegg side last season and prior to that spent time in the Eels and Panthers’ systems.

But the chaotic lead-up to his first NRL game shows just how far out of the mix he originally was.

“I was actually at the airport on Friday morning to go to Cairns to play (Queensland) Cup and they gave the coach a call and said ‘get your bags off the plane, we need you at captain’s run’,” Lenaz said.

“I just thought I’d be at captain’s run and probably be 19th man. Then Saturday morning at 6:45, (Payten) said ‘you’re debuting’.”

Lenaz — a hooker that’s equally at home as a middle forward — has been playing for feeder side Northern Pride and expected to be lining up for their Saturday afternoon clash with Norths Devils at Barlow Park.

From there he was planning on travelling back to Townsville ahead of his Sunday shift at The Beach Hotel.

Instead, he had to give his boss a ring on Saturday to ask for the day off. His boss was of course supportive with Lenaz saying “he knows I have a dream.”

Lenaz, who was presented his jersey pre-game by his parents, was injected into the game in the 25th minute and played a total of 27 minutes, finishing with one run for 11 metres and 19 tackles — one miss.

“I’m pretty stoked, it’s been 17 years of my life for this moment, so I’m over the moon,” he said after the game.

While he didn’t set the world alight, he did his job, with Payten summing up the performance as “pretty strong,”

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Payten cracked a smile when asked about Lenaz in the post-match press conference — probably because of his unique journey to the NRL.

“He came up looking for an opportunity, did his own recruiting himself by calling our guys and sending video,” he said.

“It was a train-and-trial for a short period, he worked really hard for six-to-eight weeks and earned the rest of the season.

“There was an opportunity for him to go home maybe a month ago but he wanted to stick it out and got an opportunity tonight and was really good for us.

“It’s a great story, he’s a nice kid and deserving (of a debut).”

Lenaz was studying a Bachelor of Commerce last year when he decided to take a leap of faith and send some vision of himself to the Cowboys. In fact, he was actually sitting in class when he emailed the club — a sign of where his heart truly lies.

“It was at the end of last year,” Lenaz recalled.

“I felt deep within myself that I deserved a bit more than what the Sydney clubs had to offer so I just put together a highlights package and emailed it to the Cowboys. One thing led to another and here I am now.”

The uni degree has been put on hold for now “because this is the dream,” Lenaz said.

But to continue the dream he needs a new contract.

As Payten revealed, the Cowboys tapped Lenaz earlier this season to let him know his future wasn’t in Townsville and as such he was free to head back home to Sydney if he wanted to… but he didn’t.

“They told me they have nothing for me next year and I’m free to leave, but I’ve just fallen in love with Townsville so I thought ‘nup, I’m not going anywhere.’ I just put my head down and arse up, train as hard as I can and see how I go,” he said.

That attitude has gotten him an NRL debut and now he’s hoping it will change the Cowboys’ minds.

“That’d be a dream come true that they’ll just give me a call and say ‘mate you’re staying’, I’d be over the moon,” he said.

If not, he’s “holding onto hope and hoping my hard work can get me somewhere.”