North Queensland predict former coach turned Gold Coast assistant Neil Henry to ruffle feathers

THERE are few people who know what it takes to get under Cowboys’ players skin better than Neil Henry and that will be on show this Monday.

THERE are few people who know what it takes to get under Cowboys’ players skin better than Neil Henry.

When Henry’s Gold Coast come up against North Queensland on Monday, for the first time since he was sacked, his former charges expect him to use that to his advantage.

“King” Henry was at the helm as head coach of the Cowboys from 2009 until last season and was also an assistant at the club from 2003-06.

When it comes to knowing how to best ruffle the feathers of the Cowboys players with a bit of niggle, centre Kane Linnett predicted Titans assistant Henry would let Gold Coast in on all the secrets.

Neil Henry coaching the Cowboys last season.

“I’m sure he’ll have plenty to offer; he was up here for quite a few years, and he probably knows plenty of our players’ strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

“He doesn’t know our new plays and our new structures, but he might know a few of the individual players. I’m sure there will be a bit of niggle out there.

“It’s a Queensland derby and it’s always good coming up against them.”

All 17 Cowboys named to take on the Titans played under Henry last year, while the majority were members of the teams he led to a club-record three straight finals series.

Linnett said keeping their cool when their patience was tested would be key.

“Definitely,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, I think the team that wants to win (most) and gets through their sets will be the team that comes out on top.”

New Titans assistant coach Neil Henry.

Composure under pressure has been a focus for North Queensland this week as they look to turn around back-to-back tight losses when they play at Cbus Super Stadium.

Linnett said the Cowboys had too often been their own worst enemy in the opening three rounds.

“We’re letting ourselves down in ball control and probably a bit of composure down the back end,” the former Sydney Rooster said.

“Two weeks in a row we should have won the game, but we pushed the play a bit too much, trying to come up with the miracle try instead of staying composed and finishing it off.”

While the Cowboys have the talent to be one of the most entertaining attacking teams in the NRL, Linnett said “slowly grinding” the Titans down would be the key to regaining form.

“That’s pretty much what we’re focusing on,” he said.

“We’ve got the big forwards and the backs that can carry plenty of metres, so we’re just letting ourselves down by trying to go for the play too early.

“We need to get to our kicks and slowly grind them down.”