Clifford turns in most accomplished performance this season
Even a nasty cut above his left eye could not keep the smile from Jake Clifford’s face after steering his side to an impassioned win.
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EVEN a nasty cut above his left eye could not keep the smile from Jake Clifford’s face after steering his side to an impassioned win.
Sporting the wears of a wayward Lachlan Fitzgibbon elbow, the 22-year-old produced arguably his most well-rounded performance of the 2020 season as he directed the Cowboys calmly off the boot and challenged the defence with a willingness to make inroads.
But he said the greatest test would be backing it up against Parramatta and not allowing complacency to rear its head.
“Me and Drinky (Scott Drinkwater) are working hard at getting our combination form really well, but the biggest challenge is to do it again next Friday against the Eels.
“We had a game plan set out and I thought we executed that pretty well.
“There were a few seven tackle sets I let up there which I’m not happy about, but the boys ‘D’d’ really well on the back of that and it didn’t turn into points.
“If I just fix those couple of kicks up I’m happy. It’s my job to get us a good kick in, if I do a bad one you can’t dwell on it.
“The body language the boys showed when it did happen was really good and that’s a positive sign for me to get back into a different role and execute my next kick.”
Clifford’s balancing act was showed to full effect in the first half, with a series of steps close to the line enabling him to score, before his perfectly placed bomb for Kyle Feldt on the stroke of halftime provided a surge of momentum into the dressing rooms.
But it was the stage by his forwards that the young halfback lauded as the catalyst for his display.
Jason Taumalolo led from the front with 264 running metres, while pressure defence from the likes of Coen Hess and Shane Wright forced the Knights into errors the halves pairing could capitalise on.
“The platform the big boys laid for us was unbelievable and it was really good to play off the back of that,” Clifford said.
“It created a lot of space for me and Drinky and I thought we took those opportunities well when we needed to.
“We got a roll on and being a half that’s what we look for. The big boys opened up the defence and the space opened up out wide, so that was an opportunity when I had to take it and it pulled off.
“We can celebrate but the big challenge is next Friday against the Eels.”
Originally published as Clifford turns in most accomplished performance this season