NRL 2022: Corey Parker causes stir by telling Cowboys to release club icon Jason Taumalolo
Cowboys co-captain Jason Taumalolo has opened up on his NRL future, after former Bronco Corey Parker called for the star forward to be released from his $10m contract.
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Cowboys legend Matt Scott has urged Jason Taumalolo to find happiness on the field again as North Queensland’s under-fire co-captain vowed to finish his career in Townsville.
Taumalolo’s future in the north has come under the spotlight after Fox League commentator Corey Parker urged North Queensland to cut ties with the Dally M Medal winning superstar.
Taumalolo, 28, is coming off the toughest season of his 12-year NRL career after suffering a glut of injuries as the Cowboys fell to a 15th-placed finish in 2021.
His 2022 campaign has already hit a hurdle after Taumalolo was ruled out of Saturday’s final trial game against the Broncos in Mackay due to a hamstring injury.
In the fifth season of a record $10 million 10-year contract, Taumalolo’s future at the Cowboys has come under question but the Tongan international said he wanted to see out his playing days in Townsville.
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“I’m still happy at the Cowboys,” he said.
“In a perfect world, I would like to finish my playing career here in North Queensland.
“I have enjoyed every bit of it, the lows, the highs, winning the premiership (2015) and even through these tough years, I have enjoyed it all.
“I love the Cowboys and my aim is to finish as a one-club man and stay here in Townsville.
“It wasn’t so long ago that I walked in and I was the youngest one at the club and now I am one of the senior players. Time does fly past and I’m still happy.
“I never take for granted what I do. I try and play every game like it’s my last and to be doing what I love as my job, not many people can say that.
“Every time I am out here I’m enjoying it and when I put on the Cowboys jersey, I don’t get complacent. We’ve been through some ups and downs over the last few years, but I’m determined to make us successful again and have us playing finals football.”
After being restricted to only 15 games last year, Cowboys coach Todd Payten has eased the pressure on Taumalolo by appointing Cronulla recruit Chad Townsend as co-captain.
There is no doubt Taumalolo is still one of the NRL’s most devastating forwards and capable of rediscovering the form that catapulted him to the 2016 Dally M Medal.
But for that to happen the 211-game stalwart has to find enjoyment in the game again, according to former teammate and 268-game Cowboys great Scott.
“I’d just like to see him enjoy his footy again, that’s the biggest thing for Jase,” said Scott, a leadership consultant at the Cowboys.
“It was a very tough year for him. For a player that’s not really had to deal with too many injuries since he’s started, because not much could hurt the big fella, he hasn’t really experienced that.
“He got hit all at once with multiple injuries and the added responsibility of captaincy on his shoulders.
“It was no doubt a very tough year for Jase but he is all the better for it. He is more experienced and will be better at dealing with those types of setbacks.
“I’d like to see him with a smile on his face again on the field and enjoying his footy. There is no one at the club that has a bigger impact on the game than him when he’s enjoying his footy and playing well.
“Even when ‘JT’ (Johnathan Thurston) and I were there as co-captains, we’d still look to Jase to lift the team on the field. That’s his greatest strength as a leader, his ability to inspire the guys around him on the footy field.
“That’s what the club needs and hopefully we’ll see that at the start of the year.”
Taumalolo has head to deal with rumours about a rift with Payten since the coach was critical of his best player following North Queensland’s first round loss to Penrith last year.
He suffered three broken hands last year and inherited the sole captaincy after Michael Morgan was forced into an early retirement due to a shoulder injury.
An inoffensive character, Taumalolo insists he has no issues with Payten and he will be ready to make amends for four straight bottom four finishes when the Cowboys launch their 2022 NRL premiership campaign against the Bulldogs in Townsville on March 13.
“I felt I let the club down last year,” Taumalolo said.
“It was probably the toughest year I’ve had to endure. Not playing much footy, getting the countless injuries with my hands, it wasn’t the ideal season that I wanted to have.
“Being a senior player, you do hold more responsibility and I hold myself to the highest standards. I do feel the last few years when we haven’t made the finals, I haven’t been at my best.
“We have some great talent coming through and I believe they can get the Cowboys back into the finals again, but for them to do that, I need to lead the way. I want to get the Cowboys out of the slumps and the tough times.
“I hope it’s a better second season for Todd. It was a tough year not only for Toddy as coach, but us as a club.
“Things are good with me and Toddy. I want to help him get the club back to where we were playing finals, but I’m not getting carried away.
“I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe we’re in a better place this year than 12 months ago.”
‘CUT HIM’: COZZA’S INCREDIBLE CALL ON COWBOYS ICON
—Peter Badel
Cowboys coach Todd Payten and new co-captain Chad Townsend have hit back at Broncos legend Corey Parker as a war of words broke out on the eve of Saturday night’s Queensland trial derby.
Parker delivered a stinging appraisal of the Cowboys’ new co-captains, calling for star forward Jason Taumalolo to be released from his $10 million contract and questioning marquee recruit Townsend’s ability to recapture his 2016 premiership-winning form at the age of 31.
But as the Broncos and Cowboys prepare for their final pre-season trial in Mackay, Payten and Townsend came out swinging at former Brisbane skipper Parker.
Payten underlined his regard for Townsend by naming the former Cronulla halfback as his co-captain at the club’s season launch on Thursday and he took aim at Parker over suggestions he should release Taumalolo from the final five years of his $1 million-a-season deal.
Of Taumalolo, Parker told Codesports: “The game has moved beyond him warranting that level of contract. A release is the only fix; you can’t just ask him to cut his pay.”
“It is surprising to hear him (Parker) say that,” said Payten, a member of the Cowboys’ coaching staff when North Queensland beat Parker’s Broncos in the 2015 NRL grand final.
“He has been the heartbeat of our forward pack for a number of years now. I accept he had a difficult year last year with injuries, there’s no doubt about that, but he is ready to go again.
“I don’t get the criticism. That is where we are in society these days.
“Everyone wants to have an opinion and when you are in the spotlight, you have to take the good with the bad.
“I can assure you of this - we won’t be releasing Jason.”
Of Townsend and the Cowboys’ recruitment drive, Parker said: “I’m not feeling good in the stomach. No disrespect, but all they’ve added is Brendan Elliot, Chad Townsend and Peta Hiku.
“Chad Townsend played his best football in 2016.
“He’s a premiership-winning halfback and there was an opportunity for him to sign a three-year contract on big cash. Good luck to him … but is he going to have a major bearing on the scoreboard?
“It’s potentially another very heavy contract for the team to carry.”
Townsend appeared to lose his way after a mid-season move to the Warriors last year but the 192-game veteran vowed to prove Parker and his critics wrong.
“People in the media have to say what they have to,” he said.
“External comments like that don’t bother me at all. I understand what happens and I have been around long enough not to let positive or negative comments influence the way I play or train. I can’t control what other people say. I am happy to be judged on how we play, it’s a results-driven business.
“My motivation comes from within. I have faced all the ups and downs this game can offer and I am still here.
“It is a huge honour to be co-captain. I want to help jason and i will be doing everything i can to lead from the front.”
Townsend said general criticism of Taumalolo’s performances are nonsense.
“Jase is an easy target because he has been here so long,” he said.
“He is our longest-serving player and when you think of the Cowboys you think of Jason Taumalolo because of his profile and the expectations he places on himself.
“Speaking to Jase, he wants a big year this year and I have no doubt he will be fired up and ready to go.
“When he gets angry, he gets going. He has had a great pre-season and I am glad he is on my side now.”
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