‘We answered that’: Coach hits back at rival as Cowboys get last laugh in war of words

Cowboys coach Todd Payten has had the last laugh in his war of words with a rival NRL coach after questions were raised about “toughness”.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten says his team have “answered” their critics after digging deep to overcome a eight-point halftime margin and defeat the Knights to progress to the second week of the finals.

With the game in the balance at 16 all with ten minutes to go, it was a real arm wrestle in the back end of the second half, before North Queensland pulled away late with two tries.

Barring a couple of gritty wins against understrength Panthers and Roosters outfits earlier in the season, the Cowboys haven’t exactly been known for winning the tight tussles in 2024 and relying on defensive resolve, with many of their wins on the back of their brilliant attack.

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Heading into the finals series, the Cowboys had won three in a row, two of them by nearly 40 points, leading Knights coach Adam O’Brien to fire somewhat of a shot at Payten’s men.

“We’ve been in some really tight contests, obviously a one-point game against Cronulla and I think six or eight points in Penrith,” O’Brien said during the week.

“Again last weekend, handling a big occasion in front of a big crowd … I just feel like we’re more ready for a tight battle.

Todd Payten held court after the win.

“More ready than the opposition (Cowboys) are, they’ve had some big blowout scorelines and haven’t had a real tight contest for a while so hopefully that puts us in good stead.”

Payten admitted that he “had a chuckle” at O’Brien’s comments in an interview with News Corp a day out from the Newcastle game, even referencing the Cowboys’ win over the Knights earlier this season, which ironically, also required North Queensland to come from two tries down to win.

“The last game here we came from 12-0 down against the Knights and got it done late in the piece. If it helps him (O’Brien) sleep, I’m OK with it,” Payten said.

He must have relayed O’Brien’s comments to his side as well, with North Queensland absorbing plenty of pressure from the Knights when the game was there to be won.

“There’s been a couple of question marks about our toughness but I think we’ve answered that tonight,” the Cowboys coach said.

“Shapes and plays are probably not going to be that potent against the good defensive teams so you got to scrap, fight and scramble and that’s what we did.”

The win sets up a semi final clash with the Sharks in Sydney, likely CommBank Stadium in Parramatta.

The Cowboys don’t have the best record against the Sharks in recent seasons, however did end Cronulla’s season at Shark Park in 2022 in one of the all-time great finals game after Val Holmes slotted a two point field goal in golden point.

One thing that definitely won’t faze the Cowboys is a trip interstate, with North Queensland having won five and lost two in seven Sydney games this season.

Payten explained why he believed his club has had so much success there in 2024.

“Looking forward to going down to Sydney with a healthy squad… we can play a little bit free-er down there without the weight of expectation at home.”

Originally published as ‘We answered that’: Coach hits back at rival as Cowboys get last laugh in war of words