HIT HARD: Braden Uele, playing for the Cowboys, is tackled by Zane Tetevano, (left), and Aidan Guerra of the Roosters during the Round 21 NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the North Queensland Cowboys.

HIT HARD: Braden Uele, playing for the Cowboys, is tackled by Zane Tetevano, (left), and Aidan Guerra of the Roosters during the Round 21 NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the North Queensland Cowboys. DAN HIMBRECHTS

RUGBY LEAGUE: Young Mackay Cutters prop, Braden Uele, 22, made his National Rugby League (NRL) debut on Saturday, playing for the North Queensland Cowboys in their Round 21 clash against the Sydney Roosters.

Uele came in off the interchange bench for injured forward Shaun Fensom, and put on a strong performance for the Cowboys for 19 minutes of the game.

Cutters head coach Steve Sheppard said he was pleased with Uele's efforts, and was waiting on confirmation from the Cowboys on whether he would play for them again this week.

"Hopefully, for Braden's sake, he's playing NRL but if he's not he's always a plus for us,” Sheppard said.

"I think he did really well, he did his job and had some great carries and made some good contact.

"There was period where they had to defend back to back and I thought he carried on really well there too.”

Cutters Steve Sheppard chats about this weeks game: Cutters Coach Steve Sheppard chats about the upcoming game against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Uele said going into the game he was overwhelmed with both nerves and excitement, not knowing what to anticipate from his debut match.

"The whole week before was pretty nerve racking, I wasn't sure what to expect, it's exciting but also pretty scary when you get that call,” he said.

"When it came to game time, all that (the nerves) went out the window and I focused on getting my head around the game and doing my job.

"I wanted to do a good job for the boys, and I think in the end I held myself pretty well. The feedback I got was that I should be proud of myself and they were impressed, I just have a few things to work on defensively and that will come with experience.”

Sheppard said Uele's debut match was a huge achievement for both the player and the club, especially coming off the back of former Cutters centre Jordan Pereira's signing with St George Illawara Dragons in June.

"It's massive for the club, it just shows our football program is working and we're preparing them the best we can,” the Cutters coach said.