Only four players appeared in all 24 games for the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys in 2019, three of those names – Gavin Cooper, John Asiata and Jake Granville – won’t come as a shock, the fourth might.

Francis Molo came into 2019 with just 13 NRL games under his belt and was fighting for a spot in the Cowboys’ stacked middle forward rotation.

On the back of a strong pre-season, Molo earned himself a spot on the interchange in Round 1 and quickly emerged as a weapon for Cowboys head coach Paul Green.

Green was so impressed by Molo’s performance in 2019 he presented the 25-year-old with the Coach’s Award at tonight’s Cowboys Presentation Night at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

All 24 of Molo’s appearances came from the interchange, with Green opting to unleash the powerful prop towards the back end of the first half of games.

His barnstorming carries and stinging defence earned him more game time as the season progressed, including a 40-minute stint in Round 24 against the Bulldogs.

Molo scored his first NRL try against Manly in Round 13 and finished the season averaging 77 running metres and 15 tackles a game.