Todd Payten Q&A: Cowboys coach excited about emerging stars, blunt response to Val Holmes scandal

From the Valentine Holmes white bag scandal to missing the finals - Todd Payten didn’t have much to be excited about in 2023. But in an exclusive interview, the Cowboys coach believes the future of the club is in safe hands.

The North Queensland Cowboys were one of the NRL’s biggest disappointments of 2023.

After going agonisingly close to featuring in the 2022 grand final, losing a thrilling preliminary final to Parramatta, the Cowboys were tipped to go one better last season.

Instead, they flopped and failed to make the finals, finishing 11th following a year to forget.

For 2022 Dally M coach of the year Todd Payten it was tough to stomach, watching his Cowboys fall from premiership contenders to September holidayers.

But Payten is confident the Cowboys can turn things around in 2023 and become a title threat once again.

TRAVIS MEYN: You made the preliminary finals in 2022 and didn’t make the playoffs last season. What did you learn?

TODD PAYTEN: It was disappointing but we’ve got no one else to blame. We were our own worst enemies. Our discipline wasn’t good enough. We had 10 sin-binnings across the regular season and too many suspensions. The game is tough enough without putting yourself in the deep end. You couple that with injuries and we didn’t win enough games. We didn’t stop enough tries either.

TM: Was an 11th-placed finish harder to stomach after going so close in 2022?

TP: Absolutely. What made it more difficult is the fact I know what we’ve got in the building and we didn’t play to our potential near enough. The difference between our good and bad was too far and too common.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten after a loss at Qld Country Bank Stadium last year. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

TM: It seemed to happen a little too easily in 2022. Was last season a reality check, especially for your younger players?

TP: Yeah, I think we will learn from it. It was a bigger challenge than I anticipated coming off the back of the World Cup and a shorter pre-season. The players will learn a bit, particularly the younger guys and guys who are newer to rep footy. Then us as a club will take the lessons out of it.

TM: You hit a good patch of form mid-season, but it was always going to be hard after such a poor start to the season.

TP: We expended a lot of energy being 2-5 after seven rounds. We won six in a row around Origin and squeezed the lemon dry with those Origin players having to back them up. We didn’t have the luxury of getting some rest into those guys. We used 32 players which is at the high end of the competition. That can impact how you perform.

TM: What changes have you made this pre-season?

TP: We’ve got new coaches coming in so the detail around a lot of stuff will change. We’ll have different movements with our defensive system and we need to tackle better. We need to win more tackles on our tryline. From an attack point of view, there will be a bit of an overhaul with our sets and sequences. We’ve been doing a similar thing for a couple of years now and it’s time to change that. The players will play their part in helping that direction.

TM: It hasn’t been a completely smooth off-season. What did you make of the photo of Valentine Holmes with a bag of white powder?

TP: I was disappointed. It’s been dealt with and I’ll leave it at that. We’ll move on.

Valentine Holmes with a white bag in his mouth.

TM: It was a tough year for Jason Taumalolo and, at 30, he isn’t getting any younger. Can he get back to his explosive best?

TP: An extended pre-season with Jase will be good for him. What we’ve got back from the doctors has been really positive around his knee. We need to get him fit and manage his workload from week-to-week. We need to do a better job across both of those areas. He’s a very important player for us. When he plays and contributes well, we do well. It’s going to be a big 12 months for him.

TM: Chad Townsend is 33 and is in his final season of his current contract. He won a premiership with Cronulla. Do you think he can take you all the way?

TP: Yeah, I do. His job is to put us into positions to win games and that’s what he’s done the past couple of seasons. His talk and direction has been first class and he does his job to get the ball to the weapons we have. That’s what he was brought to the club to do. He’s done that very well in the first season and last season he had a couple of challenges with his body. He’s so professional that I’m not too concerned about him.

Tom Duffy. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Wil Sullivan.

TM: You’ve got a lot of promising young players coming through. Who excites you?

TP: Griffin Neame has been exposed to some international footy and that will be good for him. Heilum Luki had an interrupted season coming off an ACL then did his calf and cheekbone. He didn’t get a lot of continuity in his footy. Tom Duffy has played a full season against men in Q-Cup and has got a look in his eye. He really wants it, it’s about whether he can take the next step.

There’s a kid I really like who’s come through our pathways system named Wil Sullivan. He is an edge-middle forward, athletic and is only 20. He has hit the ground running. The two centres we’ve got in Zac Laybutt and Viliame Vailea from the Warriors will be interesting.

TM: It’s an interesting time for north Queensland with talk of an 18th team being based in the region. What are your thoughts of an NRL expansion team being based in Cairns?

TP: I’m unsure. I like the thought of the game expanding but I don’t like the thought of it being in our footprint. It’s a tough one for the club. I support the game expanding and it’s the number one sport in PNG. We’ll see what happens.

Originally published as Todd Payten Q&A: Cowboys coach excited about emerging stars, blunt response to Val Holmes scandal