Gehamat Shibasaki says his stunning rise to the State of Origin ranks came down to a desire to not “piss away” his career and to repay the faith shown to him by family members and the Broncos coaching staff who took a punt on a man who is now part of Maroons folklore.
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The 26-year-old started his career at the Broncos but had stints at the Knights, Cowboys, Rabbitohs and in Japanese rugby before he returned to Brisbane on a train and trial deal.
He wasn’t expected to be a major factor in their plans this year, but Shibasaki is the club’s leading try-scorer thanks to three consecutive doubles, and he’s now an Origin winner in what is one of the more remarkable rugby league stories of the year.
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“It’s been a whirlwind. If you asked me this six months ago, there’s no way I would have thought that I’d be playing here,” he said after the game.
“Through all the hard work in the pre-season to getting here now (it’s all wild). At the start of the week, I thought I was in the squad. That would have been good in itself, but to play in it and win is a dream come true.”
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Shibasaki was a star coming through the ranks, with the powerful centre representing the Queensland under-20s three times to go with one appearance for the Junior Kangaroos.
But that feels like a lifetime ago for a guy who struggled to keep up in his first few training sessions but quickly developed into a round 1 bolter under Michael Maguire.
“Playing in the juniors is nothing compared to this,” he said.
“This is a childhood dream. Those juniors games were a stepping stone on my path here, but my path took me elsewhere. To come back, fight for my spot and then get here with Billy (Slater) putting his trust in me is unreal.
“Everyone helped me get here – my family, the coaching staff at the Broncos and Madge (Maguire) played a part in my journey.
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“For them to work hard and for me to not piss away my career (is why I’m here). I thought it’d be disrespectful to them because they all put in the hard work to help me.
“I had to pay them back.
“But in saying that, it was a gamble coming down to Brisbane. I only came down to work and get fit for the Cup season, but to then get the call from Madge and for him to have the trust to play me in round 1 was unbelievable.
“I went through the ringer in the pre-season, but I stuck at it.”
The Blues were encouraged to go after the debutant in defence and they tested him early, with Stephen Crichton beating him twice before the ball stopped coming to the right edge.
By the time Crichton eventually scored, the damage had already been done, with Shibasaki laying on the first try of the night when he beat Zac Lomax and found Xavier Coates in space.
“I was so nervous,” he said.
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“I missed Crichton twice at the start and that was all because of nerves with me wanting to do something early.
“I took a few deep breaths and then just focused on my next job. When ‘X’ (Coates) scored in the corner, all the nerves went away.”
