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Jason Taumalolo will claim his own piece of North Queensland Cowboys history on Friday. (Getty Images: Brendan Thorne)
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There were days, in his most glorious and furious times, when Jason Taumalolo felt inevitable.
He could not be truly stopped because how do you stop the king tide rising high? How do you fight a hurricane once it starts blowing? What can you do when a man who has never met a rugby league problem he couldn't run over decides you are one of those problems?
You can't do anything, as a generation of forwards found out. You can only endure what comes and try to rise again from the wreckage Taumalolo would leave behind during his days as the best forward in the world.
As he prepares to break Johnathan Thurston's all-time Cowboys appearances record with his 295th game, the 32-year-old is not quite that strength, which in olden days moved earth and heaven.
Jason Taumalolo will break North Queensland's all-time appearances record on Friday night. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde)
But how could he be? Taumalolo has spent the last 17 winters fighting giants and usually winning. There are several older players in the NRL, but only Ben Hunt debuted longer ago.
Many men he once counted as fiercest rivals are at home, with grey in their beards and grown-up children. In his fourth season of first grade, Taumalolo played against former New South Wales and Australian prop Tom Learoyd-Lahrs. Now, he calls Learoyd-Lahr's son Kaiden a teammate at the Cowboys.
He who once was youngest — debuting at just 17 — is now among the elders and his origin story is now old enough to be shrouded in the mists of time. His beginning is the first of his legends, when he seemed like a chosen one, the Tongan prince who was promised.
Taumalolo's first grade debut back in 2010 against Canterbury is so far in the past that the other side boasted a former Hunter Mariner, a Super League club that hadn't existed in almost 30 years.
Jason Taumalolo debuted for North Queensland just a few months after turning 17. (Getty Images: Ian Hitchcock)
Taumalolo was just a few months past his 16th birthday, but on the advice of Under 20s coach Kristian Woolf and following a spate of injuries in the forwards, then Cowboys coach Neil Henry didn't hesitate.
"He was a stand-out, even at that age, against boys four years older. He could handle himself and he'd done well in our opposed sessions," Henry said.
"He was a bit shocked when we told him. But when I'd spoken to Kristian about it he was adamant Jase could handle it physically."
Henry brought him along slowly in those early years. Even for a player as gifted as Taumalolo, there's no such thing as a guarantee and even the greatest of talents can take some time to find their feet.
The Cowboys brought Taumalolo along slowly, a move that's since paid off. (Getty Images: Ryan Pierse)
"With his footwork, he can take 10 or 15 metres off you every time, even then. The next challenge for him, and it was a challenge, was to be consistent defensively," Henry said.
"He had to find effort on effort, which was hard because he put so much energy into his carries, then he has to flip.
Taumalolo's coming of age as a footballer came in the 2013 finals series against Cronulla. Against a Sharks pack containing the likes of Andrew Fifita, Luke Lewis, Paul Gallen and Wade Graham, it was Taumalolo who turned the game late.
Still just 20, Taumalolo ran for 139 metres and broke 12 tackles in the second half alone, scoring a try and creating a chance for the game-winning score in the dying seconds.
It wasn't converted and the Cowboys went down 20-18, but it was the first time Taumalolo reached the limits of his talents.