A freak injury robbed Justin O’Neill of what could have been one of the prolific seasons of his career.

O’Neill had scored eight tries in as many games before a ruptured spleen ended his season in Round 11.

The 28-year-old actually spent a month in the Queensland Cup after a shaky start to the season, but after returning in Round 6 O’Neill was one of the biggest try-scoring threats in the NRL.

His Round 8 performance against the Titans was one of the best of his career. Playing on the wing, O’Neill ran for a massive 214 metres to go along with a try, two line-breaks and seven tackle breaks in a 28-14 Cowboys victory.

He followed that with a two-try performance in Magic Round against South Sydney and scored a pivotal try against the Raiders in Round 11, but would not play again in 2019.

2019 stats

Games: 8

Tries: 8

Line-breaks: 6

Tackle breaks: 22

Average run metres: 123