Cowboys coach Paul Green weighs up switching Michael Morgan to fullback
AFTER slumping to their sixth loss of the season, Cowboys coach Paul Green has refused to rule out a team reshuffle that could hurt five-eighth Michael Morgan’s State of Origin dreams.
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MICHAEL Morgan’s dreams of replacing Cooper Cronk as Queensland halfback could be shot after Cowboys coach Paul Green refused to rule out an extended stint at fullback for the misfiring playmaker.
Morgan could start in the No. 1 jersey against the Panthers in Bathurst on Friday as Green desperately tries to keep North Queensland’s premiership hopes alive.
The Cowboys slumped to their sixth loss in seven games on Saturday night, falling 18-8 to Canberra at 1300 SMILES Stadium.
The shock defeat has relegated the Cowboys to 15th spot on the ladder with a 2-6 record after a third of the NRL season.
With a horror month looming before State of Origin, Green needs the Cowboys to fire or he can kiss his title hopes goodbye.
Green benched No. 1 Lachlan Coote, and pushed Morgan to fullback in the final stages of the Raiders game as North Queensland desperately chased points.
Morgan, 26, had a breakout season at fullback in 2014 and Green would not rule out shaking his team up for the game against second-placed Penrith.
“It freed him up to attack both sides of the field,” Green said.
“Cootey had a bit of a rib issue coming into it, not that that’s why I pulled him off.
“I thought we were a little bit more dangerous. We were chasing points at that stage. Had we led, it might have been a different decision.
“I just felt we needed a bit of spark across the paddock. Once Morgs was on the ball, I thought we looked a bit threatening whenever he got his hands on the footy and around the ball.
“I never comment straight after games about team selections.”
The off-contract Coote is facing an uncertain future at North Queensland and Green’s latest move further clouds his position at the club.
Green has the flexibility to tinker with his setup given Te Maire Martin is a capable five-eighth to play alongside Johnathan Thurston.
Morgan has failed to fire this year after a sensational 2017 season which saw him finish runner-up in the Dally M Medal count and lead North Queensland to the grand final.
The Kangaroos five-eighth has been horribly out-of-form and is seemingly a long way back in the race to wear Queensland’s No. 7 jersey in the Origin series opener on June 6 at the MCG.
Dragons halfback Ben Hunt is firming to be Cronk’s successor and it would not be ideal for Morgan to be playing a different position when it comes to Origin selection time.
The pivot’s woes were summed up when he burst into open space against Canberra before being caught in two minds and losing the ball in a jolting tackle from Raiders fullback Jack Wighton.
“That’s probably us as a team,” Green said.
“We’re a little bit in two minds at the moment in a lot of areas. We’re managing to find the wrong decision.
“We need to simplify things across the board and get back to what we do best individually and as a team, then your teamwork and combinations start to flow off the back of that.
“We just haven’t really found our rhythm yet, obviously.”
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