North Queensland Cowboys 2020 NRL preview: Team list, burning questions
Paul Green says he has learned from the past two years of Cowboys mediocrity and is confident of turning things around. But to do so the coach needs his players to climb on board.
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Pressure is mounting on North Queensland this year to improve on their past two seasons.
And former players and commentators believe coach Paul Green faces the most pivotal moment of his coaching career.
The most analytical mind in rugby league, Ben Ikin, listed Green as one of the top three NRL coaches under the most pressure in 2020.
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And the North Queensland mentor is well aware of the outside noise, but admits he’s only focusing on the things under his control.
“Some of the things were out of our control last year so it’s important to focus on the things you can control and don’t get too stressed about the things you can’t control,” Green said.
Which is why North Queensland’s pre-season has been shaken up this year compared to the previous two.
The playing group have described it “as enjoyable as a pre-season could be”, with non-football related activities such as kayaking to Magnetic Island from Townsville.
Green said he had learnt from the past two years and was confident of turning things around in 2020.
“You do learn more about yourself when you do have your challenges,” Green said.
“I’ve certainly learnt plenty over the past two years.
“The club and everyone involved has learnt plenty also.
“The players take a lot of lessons out of that, too.
“We’ve certainly had a good pre-season so we’re pretty excited about the year ahead.”
THE COWBOYS ROSTER
Who’s in: Valentine Holmes (NFL), Esan Marsters (Tigers), Reece Robson (Dragons), Connelly Lemuelu (Bulldogs), Reuben Cotter (upgrade), Thomas Gilbert (upgrade), Daniel Russell (upgrade)
Who’s out: Javid Bowen (unsigned), Carlin Anderson (unsigned), Gideon Gela-Mosby (unsigned), Kurt Baptiste (unsigned), Jordan Kahu (Broncos), Te Maire Martin (retired), Matt Scott (retired), Scott Bolton (retired), Enari Tuala (Knights)
Off-contract: John Asiata, Jake Clifford, Gavin Cooper, Reuben Cotter, Mitchell Dunn, Kyle Feldt, Francis Molo, Tom Opacic, Emry Pere, Daniel Russell, Tukimihia Simpkins, Shane Wright.
North Queensland powerbrokers have put a freeze on re-signing any of their players in a bid to motivate them to prove their worth in 2020.
The likes of Maroons representative Gavin Cooper, star winger Kyle Feldt and versatile John Asiata each face an uncertain future with the club unless they deliver on the field this year.
“You can’t sugar-coat a bitter pill,” Cowboys football boss Peter Parr said.
“We’ve had two seasons where we’ve run closer to the bottom than the top.
“I would have thought it’s more than fair that players have to play some footy before we start to begin negotiations over a new contract for them.”
The burning question
Is Val Holmes the answer?
In the long term, most likely yes.
But many experts are warning North Queensland fans to be patient with the prodigal son returning to Townsville.
Holmes can only have developed his rugby league skills in the NFL, not lost them, and by all accounts, he’s as fast and agile as ever.
“People talk a lot about body shapes and putting on weight and the type of training they do over in the NFL and whether he would still have his aerobic capacity,” Green said.
“He’s just a great athlete and it didn’t take him too long to find his feet before he was up and running.
“He’s settled in really well. He’s really happy.”
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It’s a big year for (player who bounces back)
Michael Morgan
After guiding the Cowboys to the 2017 GF, North Queensland’s captain has failed to return to those dizzying heights.
But that was due in large part to injury and an inconsistent halves partner at the Cowboys last year.
Green has backed his skipper to return to his best this year.
“For us, it’s unfair to put too much blame on Morgo,” Green said.
“If you look at our key positions, particularly last year, we had 12 different combinations in 1, 6, 7 and 9.
“It’s really difficult to get that consistency among those key positions if they’re changing so regularly.
“Morgo, probably more than anyone, felt the effects of those chops and changes, which we were forced to do at different times, for different reasons.
“Hopefully some of the recruitment we’ve done this year and some of the younger guys coming through, we can be a lot more consistent through those key positions.
“Obviously having Val there, having a bit more depth through our hooking position, there’s more than just Morgo to worry about when opposition teams play us.”
The new recruit
Expect Scott Drinkwater to clinch the No.6 jumper for the Round 1 Queensland derby.
Drinkwater has been impressive throughout the entire pre-season, including his player of the series performance at the NRL Nines tournament in Perth.
He is locked in a head-to-head battle with Jake Clifford to partner Morgan in the halves and - had it not been for a minor pec strain – would have had one final shootout against Melbourne this weekend.
Pre-season hero
Coen Hess. If you haven’t heard already, the Hess Express is back.
He’s dropped six kilos from his frame, cut the sugar from his diet and hit the gym every day during the off-season to prime himself for the year ahead.
He confessed that last year had a tumultuous effect on him and spurred him to change things around for 2020.
“I’ve been pretty lucky with injuries in the past but I had a few things I was carrying,” Hess said.
“When I first came on to the scene I was in a team that was always winning. When we strung a few losses together, it was uncharted waters for me.
“I didn’t cope with it well. I wasn’t really comfortable losing.
“There was a roll-on effect from that. One thing led to another and I was a bit down on confidence, too.
“After you string a few losses together it becomes pretty difficult to get yourself up for a game.”
The best player you’ve never heard of
Tukimihia Simpkins. The man-mountain towers over most players on the field, standing at 192cm and weighing 105kg.
The scary thing is, he’s only 18-years-old.
He was picked up by the Cowboys after they were left in awe of him during the 2016 New Zealand Under 15s Rugby League National Championships.
Simpkins was on the radar to sign with one of the Super League franchises but opted to hop codes from rugby union into league.
Having been promoted straight into North Queensland’s Top 30, rather than a development contract, is a sign the youngster is close to an NRL debut.
Stats that matter
The Cowboys need to find a way to score points this season.
They averaged 15.7 points in 2019, their lowest average since the days of 1998.
Other 2019 stats continue to paint a poor picture for the Cowboys – the least number of linebreaks in the league (3 per game), least tackle busts (19.2 per game), and the second fewest metres (1359 per game).
They did, however, win eight of 15 games last year when they were ahead or level at halftime which shows the importance for the Cowboys to get out to an early lead.
Originally published as North Queensland Cowboys 2020 NRL preview: Team list, burning questions
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