KYLE Feldt didn’t have to look far to realise how quickly the best years of his rugby league career were slipping away.

As he struggled to shed the tag of the streaky and sometimes spectacular winger who had come through the Cowboys’ under-20s system, Michael Morgan was establishing himself as one of the elite players in the NRL.

A pair of Townsville lads born just 44 days apart, Morgan and Feldt trod almost identical paths to reach the NRL ranks of the North Queensland but having turned 26 only a couple of weeks ago, Feldt came to the realisation that he had been left behind.

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Round 20

Kyle Feldt at pre-season training. Picture: Alix Sweeney Source: News Corp Australia

Flirting with the fringes of Origin selection since his 2015 grand final heroics, Feldt adopted a more disciplined approach to his latest off-season and it has made an immediate impression on three very influential figures.

Cowboys coach Paul Green and co-captain Johnathan Thurston described it as Feldt’s best preparation going into a season and the results were a hat-trick against Cameron Smith’s Storm team in a match played in the Queensland skipper’s honour.

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“Going off what ‘Greeny’ said about his best preparation in any season that he’s seen him have, that puts himself in a really good position to have a crack at Origin this year,” was Smith’s early summation.

“If he keeps coming up with some of the efforts that he did tonight for the first part of the season then he’s in with every chance.”

There was a trademark screamer from a Morgan kick made all the more remarkable by the conditions and the fact that he did it one-handed but there were also heads-up plays that he may have lacked in previous seasons.

He doesn’t regret the length of time that it has taken for the penny to drop but Feldt acknowledged the impact Morgan’s progression had on his own development.

“I’m getting old now, I’m 26 so I thought I was coming into the prime of my career,” said Feldt.

“I just really wanted to put my best foot forward coming into this year and hopefully build on my full season last year.

“When I was younger I was always taking it for granted and obviously being around the likes of ‘Johno’, ‘Thumper’ (Matt Scott), ‘Coops’ (Gavin Cooper) and now ‘Morgo’, they’ve all just stood up.

“Obviously seeing Morgo coming through the ranks same as me, through the 20s system up at the Cows and he’s just a good example of how you want to start off as a young fella.

“Obviously it came a bit later for me and I’m not disappointed, I’m just taking it on the chin and just happy to be where I am at the moment playing good footy.

“A good off season and hopefully I can go into round one fit and healthy.”

With the next wave of young flyers nipping at his heels Feldt is not only fighting for his position but also helping to usher in the next generation of Cowboys outside backs.

Rather than an off-season blowout he consciously kept on top of his diet and joined fellow members of the Cowboys squad for training sessions instead of lying on the beach.

It allowed him to start pre-season on the right note and show Thurston that his application was nearing that which is required if you want to play for Queensland.

Kyle Feldt celebrates scoring a try. Source: AAP

“The preparation that he’s had in the pre-season will give him that confidence that he can handle playing on that stage,” Thurston said.

“He’s obviously played a lot of finals football now so he understands how to prepare right and how to execute in big games so he’s not far off.

“No doubt if he continues to go the way that he is then he’ll be knocking on the door.”

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