Changes ‘absolutely’ on the cards for hapless Cowboys

Cowboys coach Todd Payten declared he would “absolutely” be looking at making changes to his side ahead of a vital clash with the Panthers. Find out who could be in line for a call-up.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten declared he would “absolutely” be looking at making changes to his side ahead of a vital clash with reigning premiers Penrith on Saturday night.

The Cowboys were beaten convincingly 42-6 by Cronulla in round 7 – their third defeat in four games since opening the season with three straight victories.

The shine has worn off that spectacular start and Payten highlighted the team’s lacklustre defence for their freefall down the standings.

“We’ve got to shift our attitude towards tackling and defending. If we’ve got 100 per cent of energy … we’re putting 65 to 70 per cent of it into our attack rather than at least 50/50,” Payten said.

“The good teams, they’ll go 60/40 towards D, knowing that they’ll get that energy back at some stage, whether it’s two or three sets later or at the back end of each half.

“Until we shift that mentality, we’ll still be here having this conversation.”

Valentine Holmes was the Cowboys’ sole tryscorer on Sunday. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Fatigue seemed to plague North Queensland during periods of the match and it would surprise some to see that only seven of a possible eight interchanges were used on Sunday.

In fact, Payten has left an interchange up his sleeve in three of the last four games.

Taking that into account, a bench reshuffle seems most likely to be in the coach’s sights this week.

There are two players knocking on selection’s door that must be considered: Thomas Mikaele and Jamal Shibasaki.

Everyone saw what Mikaele could provide during his barnstorming trial match appearances, but 18-year-old Shibasaki is already proving he has what it takes to excel against men.

Cowboys prospect Jamal Shibasaki (right) has scored six tries and broken 24 tackles in five games so far this season for the Mackay Cutters in the Queensland Cup. Picture: Supplied

The Ignatius Park College graduate has been dominating the Queensland Cup with Mackay, scoring six tries and breaking 24 tackles in five games so far this season.

Payten’s other – admittedly more drastic – option would be to bring Jake Clifford or Tom Duffy into the fold, perhaps initially at No.14 to see how they can impact the game at the NRL level.

Either way, it’s something that Cowboys co-captain Tom Dearden trusted his coach to make the right call about.

“That’s up to Toddy. I think Toddy will make every decision based on what he thinks is best for our team and for our performances,” Dearden said.

“It’s up to us players to really pull our fingers out, it wasn’t good enough.

“When the tries keep coming there’s not really much you can say behind the line. I don’t think we played tough enough tonight.”

North Queensland hosts the Penrith Panthers at 7.35pm on Saturday, April 27.

Originally published as Changes ‘absolutely’ on the cards for hapless Cowboys