North Queensland Cowboys unveil Todd Payten as new head coach
Heβs the fresh face of the North Queensland Cowboys, and now it can be revealed what convinced club head honchos to put their faith in Todd Payten as their new coach.
NRL
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A ninety-minute interview and the New Zealand Warriors’ resurgence was enough to convince North Queensland heavyweights that Todd Payten was the man to lead the Cowboys out of the NRL doldrums.
Payten was on Friday announced as the new coach of the Cowboys, replacing premiership-winner Paul Green on a three-year deal.
Payten will join the Cowboys on November 1 and be tasked with guiding the club out of the NRL’s cellar.
After winning the 2015 NRL premiership and losing the 2017 grand final, the Cowboys have been languishing near the bottom of the ladder, prompting the sacking of Green in July.
Payten, 41, has taken the Australia-based Warriors to ninth on the NRL table after stepping up as interim coach following Stephen Kearney’s dismissal in June.
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Cowboys chairman Lewis Ramsay said Payten’s resume, the Warriors’ performances and a compelling job interview were enough to see him trump 20 applicants for the role.
“After Paul left the phones and email inboxes were running hot, everyone knew we were in the market for a head coach,” he said.
“Over 90 minutes you develop a position. Anyone who’s been through an interview process as a panellist you understand you’re expected to land on an outcome.
“You’re always looking, listening and ranking candidates. It was a 90-minute process really.
“You’d be lying if you didn’t look at performances, current and past, of any candidate. There’s always their history, what they do in the interview process and their referees as well.
“That all combines for a final decision.”
Payten beat former Gold Coast Titans coach John Cartwright, interim Cowboys coach Josh Hannay and England Test mentor Shaun Wane for the post following the final round of interviews.
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Payten played in the Wests Tigers’ 2005 NRL grand final win against the Cowboys and was a member of Green’s coaching staff from 2015-18 before heading across the Tasman.
Payten knocked back the opportunity to replace Kearney at the Warriors full-time and said he was looking forward to working with the Cowboys’ young roster.
“I’m excited for the opportunity which lies ahead for myself and my family,” Payten said.
“Returning to this club, town and region is something which makes us extremely happy.
“I see a huge amount of upside within the Cowboys organisation and it is my job to see that eventuate into results on the field.
“Developing the players within the club to be good footballers and good men along with playing a style of football our members and supporters can be proud of will be my main focus.”
Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel admitted Hannay was disappointed to miss out on the job but was committed to coaching the team in the final four rounds of the NRL season.
Hannay is contracted to the Cowboys next year but it is unclear whether he will be part of Payten’s support staff.
“I’ve had some conversations with Josh – he is naturally disappointed,” Reibel said.
“Josh is one of us. He is a Cowboy. He played and coached here. Our opinion of him has done nothing but rise since he’s taken over as interim coach.
“Josh is contracted to our club and we want him here. We will continue down that path.
“I’m not going to speculate on what’s going on in 2021 but there’s an opportunity for Josh to remain at our club and that’s what we’d like to happen.”
The Cowboys are on a nine-match losing streak and in danger of collecting the wooden spoon heading into Sunday’s game against the Dragons in Townsville.
Payten will be unveiled as the Cowboys’ new mentor at 11am on Friday morning, stepping into the hot-seat vacated by Paul Green.
Green was sacked in July following seven years at the club, which included the Cowboys’ first NRL premiership in 2015 and a grand final loss in 2017.
Green was shown the door with a year to run on his contract and the Cowboys facing a third straight year in the bottom eight.
The Cowboys will not play finals football in 2020 and have lost their past nine games, with interim coach Josh Hannay yet to register a victory since replacing Green six games ago.
The Cowboys are in wooden spoon contention, sitting only one win above last-placed Canterbury.
Payten, 41, has completed a lengthy apprenticeship as an NRL assistant coach which included being part of Green’s coaching staff for the 2015 premiership win against Brisbane.
He spent four seasons in Townsville before joining the New Zealand Warriors in 2019 as an assistant to Stephen Kearney, stepping up to the interim coach role when Kearney was sacked in June this year.
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Payten was installed as one of the favourites to replace Green along with ex-Titans coach John Cartwright and presented an irresistible case for the role.
Despite being based in Australia, the ninth-placed Warriors are remarkably in finals contention after winning five of 10 games under Payten.
New Zealand has won four of its past five matches, the only loss coming to first-placed Penrith, and Payten has been credited with transforming the club.
Payten 259 NRL games for Canberra, the Roosters and Tigers, including the 2005 grand final win against North Queensland in which he scored a try in the final minutes to crush the Cowboys.
He becomes the eighth full time coach of the Cowboys and only the fourth since the late Graham Murray took over in 2002 before being succeeded by Neil Henry (2009-13) and Green (2014-2020).
Originally published as North Queensland Cowboys unveil Todd Payten as new head coach