NRL 2020: Cowboys expect new coach to make team an NRL finals contender immediately
The three seasons since the Cowboys last reached the grand final have been close to disastrous. But that hasn’t stopped the club from expecting their new coach to make them an immediate NRL finals contender.
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The Cowboys expect their new coach to turn the team into an NRL finals outfit immediately after North Queensland officials refused to consider a rebuild was required.
News Corp Australia has investigated the dramatic fall of the Cowboys from one of the NRL’s top clubs to a wooden spoon contender in 2020.
With only three wins from 14 games this year, the 14th-placed Cowboys are fighting to avoid collecting the club’s first wooden spoon in 20 years.
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Two years later, Michael Morgan was the best player in the game as the Cowboys produced a fairytale run to the 2017 grand final, losing to Melbourne.
But the three seasons since have been close to disastrous for the pride of the north.
Thurston’s final season in 2018 was one to forget as the Cowboys finished 13th and they slipped to 14th in 2019 after club legend Matt Scott was forced into an early retirement following a stroke.
Coach Paul Green was sacked last month following seven years in the job after club powerbrokers decided a new voice was needed to bring the Cowboys back to life.
The Cowboys are expected to announce a new coach next month, with Todd Payten, John Cartwright, Shaun Wane and Josh Hannay among the confirmed candidates for the position.
Cowboys football chief Peter Parr said the successful applicant will be expected to find improvement in the current squad rather than buy time with talk of rebuilding.
“We’ve spoken at length to everybody that’s applied for the position and they’ve been complimentary about the squad and its potential,” Parr said.
“The new coach will understand the current playing personnel is what they’ll be dealing with and no one has been disappointed with it.
“If our younger players continue to develop at the rate they are and we can put them in with our top end talent then we think we will have a side that’s more than competitive.
“We think we have a really talented and competitive team, but we understand we need to get some wins on the board.”
GREENER PASTURES
Green replaced Neil Henry at the Cowboys in 2014 and immediately transformed the club from a finals participant to premiership threat.
He guided the Cowboys to two grand finals, winning one, and a preliminary final in 2016 during what was a golden era for the club.
Green exited the Cowboys last month with a respectable winning record of 52 per cent from 167 games (87-80), but his final three years at North Queensland yielded only 20 wins from 58 matches.
While the Cowboys enjoyed great stability with their team during 2014-17, Green was criticised at times for being too loyal and failing to usher in enough fresh talent.
The Cowboys have also seen NRL stars Kalyn Ponga (Newcastle), Brandon Smith (Melbourne) and Viliame Kikau (Penrith) leave North Queensland and prosper at rival clubs.
“It (not debuting enough players) was a criticism of Greeny but I didn’t really wear that,“ Parr said.
“He introduced young players when he could. In his time here he gave a number of players their debuts.
“He also had a really good core group of senior players that had done the right thing by him over a long period of time.
“We haven’t sat on our hands letting the club fall apart. People criticise us for losing Brandon Smith, Kalyn Ponga and Viliame Kikau but we won a premiership in 2015 and made a grand final without them in 2017.
“Things aren’t too great at the moment but long term we are in a solid place with the emergence of a new wave of young players and we need to get our more experienced players playing a bit more football.
“There’s no doubt we are in a transitional stage. We didn’t just lose a few good players, we lost two champions and club greats in Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott.”
BACK ON THE HORSE
A significant injury toll this season has forced the Cowboys into bringing a new generation of talent into the NRL.
They have missed stars Jordan McLean, Valentine Holmes and captain Morgan for significant periods and Jason Taumalolo has been below his brilliant best.
The club is excited about the potential of players like Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Daejarn Asi, Mitch Dunn and Murray Taulagi.
The Cowboys have not signed a player from a rival club for 2021 and are banking on their experienced guns, emerging talent and the development of Scott Drinkwater, Reece Robson and Jake Clifford to get them firing.
“We think our young players are showing a lot of promise,” Parr said.
“Our plan was to bring those young guys through and put them in with our more experienced players to help guide them on the field.
“That plan hasn’t been able to come to fruition because of the amount of football guys like Morgan, Holmes and McLean have missed.
“Now we’ve got McLean and Morgan back, Holmes isn’t far away, you’ve seen the difference in our side. We’ve been competitive even though we haven’t been able to get the win.
“If we can stick to what we want to do and don’t waiver then long term we’re going to end up in a really good position.”
The Cowboys have shown some improvement in the past month, challenging ladder leaders Penrith, grand finalists Canberra and losing by one point to South Sydney last weekend.
But the reality is they are on a seven-game losing streak going into Sunday’s clash against Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium and have won the same number of matches as the under-siege Brisbane Broncos.
Despite the dire situation, chairman Lewis Ramsay is confident the Cowboys have a successful plan in place for a new coach to bring to fruition.
“We’ll cop some of the criticism without a doubt, but we have a very determined intent on turning things around,” Ramsay said.
“This year has seen a lot of upheaval for everyone in the game.
“People know sporting success comes in cycles and we’ve had a very good cycle. We are transitioning through some leadership, and some of the challenges this year have been unique, but we have confidence in our roster for 2021.
“The football department is running a good plan. You have to be flexible in rugby league and ultimately the proof will be in the pudding in the way we respond.
“There’s no doubt we can do better, but we need to stick together to carve out a path to success.”