Michael Morgan doesn’t want to succeed Johnathan Thurston as Cowboys halfback

THE Cowboys have been grooming Michael Morgan to be their main man, but the club’s succession plan might need reviewing.

Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston and five-eighth Michael Morgan. Picture: Evan Morgan

THE Cowboys’ succession plan to replace Johnathan Thurston has been dealt a blow with Michael Morgan revealing he is not the man to wear the decorated No. 7 jumper.

North Queensland received a glimpse of life after Thurston when Morgan operated as their chief shot-caller in the absence of the injured champion against the Dragons on Saturday night.

Thurston (calf), hooker Jake Granville (leg) and Lachlan Coote (calf) were all sidelined, leaving five-eighth Morgan as the sole member of the Cowboys’ premiership-winning spine.

After an erratic display in the Cowboys’ 28-22 defeat at WIN Stadium, Morgan admitted he was not the best choice to succeed Thurston when the Maroons maestro retired.

The Cowboys have been grooming Morgan, who has experience at halfback, to be the club’s main man in 2019, but the Queensland utility is settled at five-eighth.

“I haven’t thought about going to halfback, it’s definitely not my preferred position,” said Morgan, who wore the No. 7 jumper in his rookie years at the Cowboys.

Michael Morgan celebrates a try with his Cowboys teammates. Picture: Toby Zerna

“How do I say this ... if the club wanted me to have a crack at replacing JT (Thurston), I’d consider it, but to be honest I’d rather be playing five-eighth.

“I like being second receiver as opposed to a halfback.

“Through my career I’ve been lucky to have Johnno as a good organiser inside me and he’s great at getting the team around the field.

“But in the past that has never been my strength.

‘‘I don’t feel I’m a natural halfback at all ... that’s why I’d be happy to stay where I am.”

Thurston’s absence laid bare the Cowboys’ organisational headaches without him against the Dragons as Morgan struggled to provide direction in an error-riddled first half in Wollongong.

The Kangaroos utility atoned in the second half, setting up a try for Ben Spina with a grubber kick before scoring himself.

Morgan conceded it was a daunting test orchestrating the Cowboys’ attack without playmaking cohorts Thurston, Granville and Coote.

“I tried to be more of a voice on the field,” he said.

Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston and five-eighth Michael Morgan. Picture: Evan Morgan

“Being the only one in the spine who was still there, I tried to lead more.

“A couple of times I felt I overplayed my hand and I made a few errors which was frustrating, but I’ll learn from that too.

“Our first half was terrible and our completion rate wasn’t good enough. I take some responsibility for that as well, my kick out on the full was a bad mistake and after that they had a fair bit of momentum.

“I was happier with my second half, but they built up too big a lead and we just left ourselves too much work to do.”