Five things we learned from the Cowboys 20-8 victory over the Titans

COEN Hess must play for Queensland, Scott Bolton throws up his name for selection and Neil Henry’s Jarryd Hayne quandary.

Coen Hess is in line for State of Origin selection.

THE Cowboys came away with a hard-fought win against the Titans and the Queensland selectors would have been watching closely. Here’s what we learned.

1. Coen Hess must play for Queensland in Origin II. Hess has been a try-scoring sensation for the Cowboys and took his tally to nine for the season against the Titans. He showed his versatility by making a shock move to the middle and was just as dangerous as he is on an edge.

2. How much longer will Titans coach Neil Henry persist with Jarryd Hayne in the centres? Hayne had just three runs at left centre in 60 minutes before going off for a head injury assessment. With Hayne back at full fitness surely it is time to unleash him in his most dangerous position.

Coen Hess put his name forward once again for Origin selection.

3. If the Maroons are looking for a Matt Scott clone for Origin II they could do worse than pick Cowboys prop Scott Bolton. Bolton is not flashy but consistently racks up big numbers. He charged for 112m in the first half without making an error.

4. The desperate Titans defence of 2016 is nearly back. The Gold Coast went into the game with one of the worst defensive records in the NRL, conceding 292 points in 11 games, but they held the Cowboys out for numerous sets with pure determination in the first half. Their poor ball control cost them in the end when fatigue set in.

Jason Taumalolo created field position but the Titans couldn’t capitalise.

5. The Cowboys attack has had six games to get used to being without Johnathan Thurston but it is still struggling. North Queensland had 23 tackles inside the Gold Coast’s 20m zone in the opening 18 minutes and didn’t look like scoring until Ashley Taylor missed a tackle on Michael Morgan. They eventually revved up on the back of possession.

Originally published as Five things we learned from the Cowboys 20-8 victory over the Titans