Can the Cowboys win another premiership in 2017?

SUMMER SCHOOL: Can North Queensland survive the splintering of their premiership team to contend for the title again?

Can the Cowboys do it again?

THE Cowboys are now feeling the pinch of their 2015 premiership win as the salary cap slowly but surely eats away at their title-winning roster.

With James Tamou and Ben Hannant already out the door and the end of Johnathan Thurston’s career looming on the horizon, can North Queensland win it all again?

In the latest instalment of our Summer School series we look at five things the 2015 premiers need to address before the 2017 season begins.

POTENTIAL: How Taumalolo became the best

GONE: Hannant forced into retirement

How do they replace Tamou and Hannant?

Losing James Tamou is the first real sign of the salary cap pressures that will eventually see several of the club’s 2015 premiership players hit the road. Replacing the Test and Origin prop won’t be easy, especially given the club already relies a whole lot on Matt Scott and Jason Taumalolo. The task was made all the more difficult by the unexpected retirement of Ben Hannant. who was set to step into the breach after signing a new one-year contract with the club. Veteran Scott Bolton now shapes as the likely candidate to start with the likes of John Asiata, Ben Spina and Patrick Kaufusi to fill the spots on the bench. A move to bring in a more established prop, either for the starting side or the bench, could be in the offing before the 2017 season begins.

Can Coote shake off the funk?

The Cowboys would not have won the 2015 title without Lachlan Coote but his dip in form after signing a rich new contract last season was alarming. He couldn’t catch a ball to save himself in the epic semi-final win over Brisbane and wasn’t a whole lot better against the Sharks the following week.

There have been some signs of life in his Four Nations appearances for Scotland but the Cowboys need Coote to shake off the funk and get back to his best if they’re to fulfil their potential.

How do they fit Kalyn Ponga in?

Kalyn Ponga has played two NRL matches, both of which were finals, and there is no stopping the hype train now. The contract offers will be coming thick and fast for Ponga and it is difficult to remember a young player who has attracted more attention so early in his career.

As it stands, the only way he would play for the Cowboys regularly in 2016 would be through injury — Paul Green likes to use a second hooker on the bench and Ponga is not big enough to handle the middle just yet. The longer he is out of the first grade team, the more likely you would think that he leaves Townsville.

How does Granville get his groove back?

Jake Granville was another indispensable piece of the premiership win but he was not as effective in 2016. He made less linebreaks, gained less metres per game and broke less tackles as defences watched the flying hooker far more closely.

He still defended well and had a couple of good days but for North Queensland to get back to the top they need Granville to regain the confidence in his running game, especially given that they’ll need a little more thrust in the middle now that they’ve lost Tamou and Hannant.

Who will be the next to go?

More of the premiership team will leave. That’s just how things work. In 2017 alone John Asiata, Scott Bolton, Gavin Cooper, Kyle Feldt, Matt Scott and Jason Taumalolo are all looking for new deals, as are Ponga, fellow young gun Gideon Gela-Mosby and the one and only Johnathan Thurston. The Cowboys cannot keep them all. Who they do keep, what they spend to keep them and how they replace the people they lose will define their future not just for the 2017 season but for the seasons to come.

Predicted 17 for Round 1, 2017

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O’Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matt Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. Scott Bolton 11. Ethan Lowe 12. Gavin Cooper 13. Jason Taumalolo 14. Coen Hess 15. Ben Hampton 16. Patrick Kaufusi 17. John Asiata

The double blow of losing Hannant and Tamou means the Cowboys middle forward stocks have suddenly become very thin. They will be forced to rely all the more heavily on Matt Scott, who turns 32 midway through next year, and Taumalolo and as good as Taumalolo is asking him to replicate his incredible 2016 season is a tall order.

Ponga may usurp Hampton for the bench spot but given that Paul Green likes his utility to spend time at dummy half it seems likely the former Melbourne man has the inside track.

Originally published as Can the Cowboys win another premiership in 2017?