‘Comfortable’ Pride not chasing former NRL stars

Northern Pride coach Ty Williams says he’s happy with the club’s 2020 roster and won’t be actively seeking the services of former NRL players to bolster his side before Round 1.

Northern Pride coach Ty Williams says he’s happy with the club’s 2020 roster and won’t be actively seeking the services of former NRL players to bolster his side before Round 1.

It comes after Intrust Super Cup rivals Townsville Blackhawks announced they were no longer pursuing the services of Cowboys legend Scott Bolton.

Scott Bolton . NRL; North Queensland Cowboys training at 1300 Smiles Stadium. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Williams, much like his former teammate and Blackhawks coach Aaron Payne, said the club was not chasing the 2015 premiership-winning forward, but the door was always open to someone of his calibre.

“The last I heard is Bolto’s hardly recognisable,” Williams said.

Nene Macdonald of the Cowboys during the Round 4 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and Canberra Raiders at 1300SMILES Stadium in Townsville, Saturday, April 6, 2019. (AAP Image/Michael Chambers) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

“He’s got the big beard and he’s officially got his fisherman licence now, so he’s been doing all that over Christmas.”

“If it does pop it’s head up with Bolto again, we’d definitely be interested, but at the end of day, when you’ve been at a professional level for a long period of time and with a set timetable – he’s a guy that likes to walk the earth and go fishing whenever he wants.

“I think he’s enjoying that freedom at the moment, but if he comes knocking, we’re definitely not going to say no, we’ll have a glance at it.”

Williams also addressed the situation of former North Queensland Cowboys player Nene MacDonald, who has been training at Stan Williams Park, home of his former CDRL club Brothers, in the off-season.

“Chey did have a conversation with him pre-Christmas,” Williams said.

“But I think he’s seeking an NRL contract somewhere at the moment.

“He’s another local guy, if he was interested in coming back to the Northern Pride then we’d definitely have a chat to him, but at the moment I’m pretty comfortable with what we’ve got in the outside backs. We’ve got some class there.

“But if he does decide to have a chat to us, we’ll open the arms up and see what happens out of it.”

Originally published as ‘Comfortable’ Pride not chasing former NRL stars