Cowboys young gun Peter Hola hunting return to the top grade
He has taken the Queensland Cup by storm in the opening rounds and this Cowboys young gun believes he is ready to take that form to the top grade.
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A SWITCH back to the centre of the field has fired up Peter Hola for a return to the NRL.
The 22-year-old forward has been on a tear in the Queensland Cup to start the season, helping cement the Pride in the top eight.
Hola has averaged more than 140 metres per game with more than 60 of those coming post contact.
He is the freight engine that refuses to stop pumping through defensive lines.
It has put Hola squarely in the vision of Cowboys coach Todd Payten, who has included the 110kg firebrand in his extended squad every week so far this season.
But he hasn’t been able to go beyond that, with Hola believing there are still key facets of his game that need improvement before he can add to his nine games in the top league.
While he might have missed the cut again for the Warriors clash on Sunday, albeit he is lurking as a late call up with Jason Taumalolo and Jordan McLean under injury clouds, Hola has circled next weekend’s Queensland Derby against the Broncos as the game he wants to be in.
It would be a poetic moment for the young forward who made his debut against the Queensland heavyweights in 2019.
“I want to play,” Hola declared. “But I have got to be patient, when (the opportunity) comes I will take it with both hands.
“(Payten) always tells forwards what to do and what they need. I think this year he doesn’t want forwards being lazy, always moving and being fit. That is one thing I have to work on, get myself fitter.
“Toward the end of my stints, I need to show a better body language. If I get that right, hopefully I get a run.”
“I feel like I am close, but I think Todd wants me to still work hard on my defensive movements. If I get that right, hopefully I will get a run soon. I just have to keep my head down and keep working hard in the Queensland Cup.”
Hola believes a move back to the middle of the field, into his preferred lock position at the Pride has been the catalyst to his improvement – and the rise of the Pride.
It is the simpler style in the heart of the engine room that has allowed him to grow his game.
“I was playing at second row for a little bit there, but I switched over to the middle and have stayed there for the last two rounds. I felt more comfortable back in lock,” he said.
“I think they wanted me to go back and feel more comfortable. I feel way better there because it is less thinking, more tackling. It is not thinking at all. I just have to work hard, make all my tackles.
“Our Queensland Cup side has been going well which is good, and the forwards going back there are doing a job.”
HEADS DOWN: Cowboys working hard toward finals
COWBOYS head of football Micheal Luck has implored his players to keep their head down and keep working hard despite coming off a three-game winning streak.
The Cowboys have shown the level of fight in the past month to re-enter the finals conversation despite spending the past three seasons languishing in the club’s bottom four.
It is a stark contrast to the start of the season after they were blown off the park by Cronulla in Kogarah to be handed their worst start to a season in 19 years.
It appears the simple mindset and philosophy of Todd Payten is showing through as the Cowboys roll up the sleeves in the back end of games.
But with a showdown against a club Payten produced a similar turnaround against last season in the Warriors, it is imperative the Cowboys keep the momentum going.
“We always knew this was a year that we had a new coaching staff and a young playing group, we had our co-captain retire, we were going to have to do everything well to be in the fight,” Luck said.
“Prepare well, play well and recover well – and that is what we have to keep doing for the next 20 weeks until its finals time.
“Absolutely (we can play finals). We know the talent we have got and we know that we have a coaching staff that will work tirelessly to provide our roster everything we need to go win.
“The boys should take a lot of confidence out of the way they played the second half (against the Raiders) and it should prove to them internally that if we stick to a plan and play how we train, we are a good team and can go with the best of them.”
The Cowboys will set off for Gosford a day early this week, travelling down on Friday before completing their captain’s run training session on the Saturday ahead of the Sunday clash.
Luck said the change in schedule was to limit the amount of travel toll on the players with the squad expected to be in the air and on the road for more than seven hours on Friday.
“If you do that the day before a game, it just adds to the toll on the players,” he said.
“It will be great to go down and continue to play in the same vein we played last week’s game in.
“The challenge is now to keep up that week in and week out. In this competition, if you get too far ahead of yourself, there is not a lot between winning well and losing heavily.”
The Cowboys have also been buoyed by the recent signings of halves Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden for next season with the pair expected to act in a master and apprentice role over the next few seasons.
It is understood Dearden is viewed around the club as a potential 10-year prospect and will learn off the premiership winner as well as childhood idol Johnathan Thurston.
DRINKWATER TARGETED AS NEXT CAB OFF THE RANK
With two key signings in the halves locked away for 2022, the Cowboys have turned their attention to retaining the services of Scott Drinkwater.
The North Queensland five-eighth is fighting for his future at the club beyond this season, and the acquisitions of Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden in the past week and raised questions regarding his place in the side.
However coach Todd Payten confirmed on Tuesday the enigmatic 23-year-old was very much in their plans moving forward, and they were close to beginning negotiations.
He also said they were actively seeking an edge backrower and a middle forward to bolster their stocks, while also keeping hold of several young players already in their ranks.
Drinkwater began the season at fullback, but in light of Michael Morgan’s retirement he has since shifted back to his preferred number six jersey.
While he has had some moments he would rather forget, his form has improved each week — contributing five try assists throughout the Cowboys three game winning streak.
With Valentine Holmes seemingly establishing himself at fullback, Drinkwater would enter a three-way race for a spot in the halves next year should he re-sign, while also keeping the pressure on the Queensland star for the number one role.
Payten said he could not predict what would be the case months down the track, but the young star was ticking the right boxes and was the “next cab off the rank in terms of our recruitment”.
“It’s hard to say, he could end up in either position. He wants to play five-eighth; he’s improving from week to week, and he’s taking in some information which is good,” he said.
“He cares about winning and losing and he cares about his performance. But it’s very hard to predict what’s going to happen in five, six, seven months’ time.
“We haven’t started negotiations but it’s not far from starting.”
In a boost to the Cowboys prospects of winning a fourth game straight this weekend, superstar lock Jason Taumalolo has been named to return from his second hand injury of the campaign.
The now sole captain the club has not featured since the round one defeat at the hands of Penrith, however North Queensland have gone through a rare period of success without him.
In the past, plenty has been made of the Cowboys lacklustre winning record with the Tongan sensation off the park, and yet they have managed to muster just their second three game winning run since the club’s miracle charge to the 2017 grand final.
Payten said Taumalolo would still have to get through Thursday’s contact session to be locked in for a comeback, the same being said for Jordan McLean who left the field early on Saturday night with a hamstring strain.
Although he said the side’s victories in their skipper’s absence had injected new-found belief throughout the group.
“One thing I’ve learnt is there are no assurances in this game, so I’m optimistic,” he said of Taumalolo.
“He was pretty happy after the game on the weekend, I was told he was really animated on the bench and he’s turned up to training every day.
“I know he’s been a little bit disconnected from the main group, but he’s got his work done – he’s keen to play.
“I think it’s given a lot of belief to a lot of players, absolutely. I thought the weekend’s game we played was a far better, tougher style of footy and we just did the little things well.
“We played the game the right way, that’s still a learning for us in our key playmakers and we got it right when it mattered.”
COWBOYS SIDE vs WARRIORS
1. Valentine Holmes, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Justin O’Neill, 4. Connelly Lemuelu, 5. Murray Taulagi, 6. Scott Drinkwater, 7. Ben Hampton, 8. Coen Hess, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Jordan McLean, 11. Shane Wright, 12. Ben Condon, 13. Jason Taumalolo (c), 14. Jake Granville, 15. Lachlan Burr, 16. Francis Molo, 17. Corey Jensen, 18. Peter Hola, 19. Javid Bowen, 20. Tom Gilbert, 21. Jake Clifford
Originally published as Cowboys young gun Peter Hola hunting return to the top grade
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