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The North Queensland Cowboys have the greatest player I’ve seen in their backline, and one the best props in the NRL.
Jason Taumalolo is a damaging forward, while Gavin Cooper and Ethan Lowe give their all but are on the small side.
Every team needs at least one hot-head who’s out to whack the opposition’s tough guys. This puts a target on his head and allows others to play their game. James Tamou could be providing the aggression needed to balance the Cowboys’ pack, but I don’t see that as his style of play.
Matt Scott is the Cowboys’ Shane Webcke, a genuinely hard man and consistent yard gainer. Scott will ensure the Cowboys get movement up field, but he needs an enforcer getting inside the other opposition’s head. So does Johnathan Thurston.
Tariq Sims was a terrific player for the Cowboys but it’s Ashton Sims the Cowboys need. He’s a leader and he took it upon himself to aggressively go after other forwards and rattle their confidence. Ashton would have gone after Beau Scott from the kick off, and had Scott thinking more about himself than doing his job of shutting down JT.
Paul Green should look to Sam Burgess or the Super League to bring an Ashton-type menace into the pack who allows the others stand tall. It would be worth losing Tamou and Ben Hannant, but I hope they prove me totally wrong.
JT is the best I’ve seen, with Andrew Johns, Wally Lewis, Brad Fittler and Darren Lockyer right behind. These guys all played in sides that complemented their talent. It’s a shame JT may not get the status he deserves because he played in a lesser side.
I’ve always liked Matty Johns, and his views on the game are usually fresh and honest, but his inflating of the value of the Cowboys’ cattle seems to me to have an agenda. He sporadically talks JT up before asking what he needs to do to surpass Andrew as the greatest. The inevitable answer being win a premiership.
Comparing players from different eras is always opinion based but the Newcastle Knights 2001 premiership side had almost all run on players having played origin or international footy. A case could be made for why more weren’t won.
Mind games are part of competition however and the Cowboys have folded. Their forwards will struggle to match the better packs this year. North Queensland need to regroup for the sake of their faithful fans.
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