A SLIMMED-down and injury free Ty Williams hopes his his Indigenous All Stars campaign can provide the perfect springboard for his NRL resurrection.

Williams received an 11th-hour call up to the indigenous side last week and made a mad dash from a family function at Innisfail to the Gold Coast to take his place in the historic match.

But it was worth the effort, with the former Queensland flyer rating the experience "pretty close" to his Origin outings with the Maroons.

"It was absolutely awesome, it was good for the game actually," Williams said.

"It was close to Origin out there – the crowd was pumped up, the pace was awesome.

"Just the whole concept was great for rugby league."

Williams was called into the squad just 24 hours before the game to replace Bulldogs centre Jamal Idris and was still buzzing about the match yesterday as he joined Cowboys teammates to prepare for tonight’s NRL trial against the New Zealand Warriors at Barlow Park.

"I still get goosebumps talking about it now," he said.

Williams, who played three games on the wing for Queensland in the 2005 Origin series.

"It was flat stick and the guys that were playing out there, they’re the best in the NRL so they just kept coming and coming," he said.

"It was a good experience. We just held in there and we did ourselves proud."

The effort, under the eyes of Cowboys coach Neil Henry – also the Indigenous All Stars mentor – earnt Williams a starting berth in the No.1 jersey tonight and first crack at keeping the spot in the absence of star North Queensland fullback Matt Bowen.

"I’m looking forward to tonight. It was a pretty good stepping stone playing in the indigenous side because every player that was in there was a class player."

With Wests Tigers recruit Shannon Gallant also pressing for the No.1 jersey, Williams knows he has plenty of competition for a place in the team.

His off-season response was plenty of hard work which has resulted in trimming 3kg from last year’s competition weight and rediscovering the speed that made him one of the most electrifying runners in the game.

"Probably at the moment, especially with Mango (Bowen) out, it’s sort of between me and Shannon at the moment and I get first crack at it so I’ll do my best with it and see how we go from there," Williams said.

"It’s been a long off-season but at the moment it’s pretty rewarding.

"I’ve dropped a few kilos. I was playing at about 92kg and now I’m playing at 89kg.

"It’s something that I’ve worked pretty hard on with Murph (athletic performance manager Glen Murphy) and Bill (strength and conditioning coach Billy Johnstone) to get me back down and my speed’s coming back so it’s good.

"It’s something that I need in my game. Playing in the outside backs it’s something that you need, to be quick off the mark and explosive.

"It’s something that I’ve worked on and hopefully pays off."

* Family passes and passes to the outer are available at Sportscene Super Warehouse on Mulgrave Rd and at Stockland, Earlville until 2pm and at the CDRL office in Severin St until noon. Family passes will not be available at the gate tonight.

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