Lachlan Coote faces Dragons knowing he could be playing for them in 2017
COWBOYS fullback Lachlan Coote faces the Dragons on Saturday knowing he could be playing for his future with the Sydney club next season.
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COWBOYS fullback Lachlan Coote faces the Dragons on Saturday knowing he could be playing for his future with the Sydney club next season.
Coote is off contract after this season and it is increasingly likely he will be forced to leave Townsville, with the Cowboys baulking at his $600,000 price tag.
That has opened the door for St George Illawarra, who are one of three Sydney NRL rivals to have lodged interest in the premiership-winning fullback.
The Dragons have matchwinning fullback Josh Dugan but the NSW Origin star could be shifted to the centres to accommodate Coote in the No. 1 jumper.
Coote’s management will receive formal offers in the next fortnight and while the 25-year-old would be gutted to leave the Cowboys, he is pragmatic about the club’s salary cap constraints.
“It’s a chance to impress them (the Dragons) this week,” Coote said. “I’ll just take it like any other game, prepare well and do my best for the Cowboys.
“It’s good to know there is interest out there.
“It would be really hard to leave the Cowboys. Obviously winning a premiership here, I’ve developed a lot of good mates at this club and I’ve started a family up here with my partner.’’
Coote can understand the desire to invest in young gun Kalyn Ponga. North Queensland believe Ponga will be a star and do not want to make the same mistake as Canterbury, who released Johnathan Thurston in 2004 and watched him become a champion in the far north.
“There’s nothing personal in this, it’s just business,” Coote said.
“The hard thing is there’s a salary cap, the Cowboys have a business to run and they have a young gun like Kalyn Ponga coming through.
“He is a good player and he is only going to get better with experience being around the team.
“The Cowboys have allowed me to look around and see what’s out there.
“My manager has received interest from a few clubs so it’s nice to know I’m still wanted. The Cowboys also said come back to us and let us know what’s out there, so they will have the final say.’’
Coote has started the season impressively, with a try, two try assists and two linebreaks in four games. He has not begun a campaign in such slick form and attributes it to the impromptu mentoring of Thurston.
“My confidence is there coming off a premiership win and that plays a big part knowing the combinations that we’ve got and the experience of playing in the grand final last year,’’ he said.
“This year I’m working more on my game management and how to control a game. I’m learning a lot from Johnathan in that area and being around him last year has really helped me with that.
“I’ve taken more of a leadership role, what we need and how to go about things on the field at a certain time. JT’s reaction time is unreal. It’s amazing to be around him.”
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