NRL 2022: How Tom Dearden has rebuilt career at Cowboys after leaving Broncos

He was rated the Broncos’ best halfback, but his development was botched so badly he had to pick up the pieces in North Queensland. Now he’s back to haunt Brisbane.

Broncos discard Tom Dearden arrived at the North Queensland Cowboys a broken man. Now he will return to Brisbane with his confidence rebuilt and ready to exact derby revenge against the club that didn’t rate him.

Dearden, 21, will run on to Suncorp Stadium on Sunday with a completely different mindset to the confused 20-year-old that was released by the Broncos midway through last season.

“It was hard to see when he got here,” said Cowboys coach Todd Payten.

“Tommy was gun-shy. He didn’t want to stuff up. Initially we just put our arms around him and tried to support him and work on building his confidence back up.

“He was low on confidence when he arrived. The amount of responsibility he was given at such a young age at the Broncos, I don’t know how much support he had around him.

“It’s hard to comment from where I stand, but the first thing we did was try and help him and get his belief back.

“The way he has worked on his game day after day, he feels like he belongs here, he’s a North Queensland kid and he has found a home here. He works his butt off and the players here respect that.”

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Tom Dearden made his NRL debut for the Broncos, but struggled as the club floundered. Picture: Getty Images.

Dearden was regarded as the Brisbane Broncos’ great halfback hope.

A highly-rated schoolboys sensation, Dearden had all the attributes to be the long-term No.7 the Broncos had been searching for since Allan Langer’s retirement 20 years ago. He made his NRL debut in 2019, at the age of 18.

But Dearden’s rise to the NRL coincided with the most tumultuous period in Brisbane’s 34-year history.

He only managed five games in his rookie season due to injury and was blindsided when former Broncos coach Anthony Seibold signed Storm halfback Brodie Croft in 2020.

Dearden played second-fiddle to Croft and by the time he was handed the No. 7 jersey he was promised, in round 11, the Broncos were already well on their way to collecting the club’s first wooden spoon.

Dearden had some moments of brilliance for the Broncos but couldn’t get consistent game time. Picture: NRL Photos.

The arrival of prodigal son Kevin Walters as Seibold’s successor in 2021 was expected to reinvigorate Dearden, but he once again missed out on the halfback duties to Croft after spending the entire pre-season at seven.

It was another crushing blow for Dearden, who began to question whether he was truly valued at Red Hill. Off-contract at season’s end, and with the Broncos making few moves to retain him, Dearden started to consider life outside of Brisbane.

The Cowboys, struggling to make moves forward following years of mediocrity, reached out to Dearden and signed him to a three-year contract from 2022. They wanted him immediately and the Broncos agreed to a mid-season release.

“I read somewhere that the Broncos didn’t want to get into a bidding war with the Cowboys for Tom’s services,” Dearden’s manager Sam Ayoub said at the time.

“You can’t be in a bidding war if you don’t make a player an offer — and the Broncos never made him an offer.

“I spoke to Pete Nolan (former Broncos football operations chief) and he said he was waiting on ‘Kevvie’ (Walters) to decide what he wants to do.

“We gave Brisbane every opportunity to retain him. Tom is a loyal kid with country values but in the end the Cowboys, to their credit, were determined to get him.”

So, after just 22 games for the Broncos club he was supposed to star for over the next decade,

Dearden was sent to reserve grade in 2021 before being granted a release to North Queensland. Picture: David Clark

Dearden packed his bags and headed to Townsville.

His development had been botched by a system with no clear direction for him. Dearden had been in-and-out of the NRL, sent back to reserve grade, played at halfback and off the bench during a turbulent three seasons with the Broncos.

During a remarkable 28-game stretch in 2020-21, Dearden only tasted victory once when he came off the bench for the Broncos. His confidence was shattered.

And things didn’t immediately improve at the Cowboys. Dearden suffered 10 straight defeats to kick off his tenure at North Queensland as the Cowboys battled to avoid the wooden spoon, finishing 15th.

“I had a pretty tough start to my career,” Dearden admitted during the recent pre-season.

“The Broncos had a few different coaches and I learnt from a few different people there as well. I had been at the Broncos since I was 13 years old and I took things from a lot of people that helped me on that journey. It was really important in my development.

“I am very thankful for that and also happy with the move I made to the Cowboys and that’s where I want to be moving forward.

“It (confidence) always takes a knock when you lose so many games in a row. I was struggling to get a win for a very long time.

“It’s just been a tough start to my career. It did knock me around a bit but that’s what happens when you lose.

Dearden had a great round two game against the Raiders, playing a hand in two Cowboys tries. Picture: Getty Images.

“I felt like the last four or five games (last year) I was starting to enjoy my footy and the love for the game was coming back again. We took a lot of confidence as a group out of the last few games so I’m looking forward to this year now.

“Part of the reason I went to the Cowboys mid-season was to start to develop some combinations for the following season.

“I definitely know I can succeed in the NRL. That’s my plan and I feel that’s where my potential can take me.

“I am still only a young player but that doesn’t mean anything anymore to me. I know that I am capable of playing at this level and that’s where I want to be for the long haul.”

Now 36 games into his NRL career, Dearden looks a different player to the one that left the Broncos.

He was sensational in last weekend’s 26-6 defeat of Canberra, constantly probing the Raiders’ defence with eight runs and finishing the game with two try-assists.

The Cowboys recruited premiership-winning halfback Chad Townsend from Cronulla to take the playmaking pressure off Dearden and brought NRL legend Johnathan Thurston into the club to mentor him.

It has been a perfect system for Dearden to flourish in and the Cowboys are now hoping to reap the rewards of the faith they have shown in him.

Dearden has struck up a solid halves partnership with Chad Townsend. Picture: Fox League.

“Tom has been very good in the first two weeks,” Payten said.

“His last six games last year, he was continually in our three top performers and he has built off that in the pre-season. He didn’t miss a day of training and he has built a good combination with Chad.

“I love the way he throws himself into the game. He is fit and a great competitor and he has earnt the respect of his teammates. They love having Tom in the team.

“We put some faith in him. There was a period last year where he came in and we weren’t winning. There were discussions about putting him back to reserve grade to get some confidence, but I didn’t think that was the right thing to do.

“We had to start again with him, so we persisted and he fought through it. I was really proud of the way he fought back in the final six weeks of the competition.

“I have no doubt he is an NRL player. Was he equipped as a halfback to play NRL at the Broncos? Probably not. But at the moment he is a five-eighth at the Cowboys running off someone who is a good organiser in Chad.

“Tom is a wonderful kid - I believe he has a huge future in the NRL.”

REVEALED: COWBOYS CHOSE TOWNSEND OVER REYNOLDS

—Peter Badel

Cowboys coach Todd Payten has revealed he chose Chad Townsend over Broncos rival Adam Reynolds as the premiership halfbacks prepare to square off in Sunday’s derby blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.

Reynolds will make his Suncorp derby debut hellbent on trumping Townsend when the $2 million halfbacks collide for the first time since the duo were locked in big-money transfer deals last season.

North Queensland were considered the raging favourites to snare Reynolds from Souths and they were so keen that Cowboys chiefs flew to Sydney last year for talks with the off-contract No.7.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten reveals the club could have signed Adam Reynolds. Picture: Getty Images.

But after meeting with both Reynolds and former Cronulla playmaker Townsend, the Cowboys opted for the latter, creating the sliding doors moment that enabled the South Sydney wizard to ink a deal with the Broncos.

While the decision to pick Townsend over Reynolds may raise eyebrows, Payten said there was a deliberate strategy to North Queensland’s recruitment drive and backed his new No.7 to engineer a Cowboys revival this season.

“We had our eyes on both Reynolds and Townsend actually,” Payten said.

“We felt that Adam’s contract situation would have taken a lot longer to play out and after having a chat with Chad, I was really impressed with him.

“They are both great players and both would have done a great job at our club, but Chad has been really invested since he arrived at the Cowboys.

“He has been outstanding. He is like another coach for us out on the training pitch. He is very clear with his talk and direction. He tells the forwards what he wants and they enjoy getting clear instructions from him.

“Bringing Chad in has given us leadership and a strong voice and his experience will be important for us this week against the Broncos.”

While Reynolds’ future was uncertain at the time, the Cowboys were really impressed with Chad Townsend. Picture: Getty Images.

Townsend produced a try assist and a line break to celebrate his first win in Cowboys colours in last week’s 26-6 defeat of Canberra, while Reynolds came up with two late try-savers to deny the Bulldogs 16-10 in his Broncos debut.

Now Reynolds has the chance to show the Cowboys what they missed out on by outsmarting Townsend and steering the Broncos to a perfect 3-0 start to the premiership in the XXXX derby.

Reynolds’ manager Steve Gillis said the 2014 premiership-winning halfback could have easily ended up in Cowboys colours before the Townsend deal paved the way for his move to the Broncos.

“There was some interest from the Cowboys,” Gillis said.

“We had a meeting with them, they came down to Sydney, but they never tabled an offer and they ended up signing Townsend.

“Reyno had a number of options, he could have gone to Cronulla as well or stayed at Souths for one year, but he liked the idea of a complete change at the Broncos and testing himself with a new adventure.

“He was impressed by ‘Kevvie’ (Broncos coach Kevin Walters) when they spoke. He connected with Kevvie straight away, they got on well and Adam was keen to get the Broncos firing again.”

Reynolds’ agent reveals he could have stayed at Souths for one more year or signed with Cronulla. Picture: David Clark.

The Broncos have named an unchanged team to the side which outlasted the Bulldogs at Homebush last Sunday.

Payten is bracing for a brutal rebirth of the code’s greatest rivalry this Sunday after two lean years from the 2015 grand-final combatants.

“We have done well on the back of our defence. I like the effort and the way we are playing for each other,” Payten said of the Cowboys’ first fortnight.

“The Broncos defended really well in their first two games.

“The top four teams are usually the best defensive teams, so that will be key to winning the derby on Sunday.”