The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

NRL 2017 season preview: North Queensland Cowboys

The Cowboys were exposed without Thurston's leadership. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)
Roar Guru
27th February, 2017
18

So the 2015 premiers had the standard season for a premiership-defending side.

They did well enough, started out on fire and ended in the top four but they just couldn’t make it to the grand final, somewhat in part due to the ‘premiership hangover’ that all teams suffer.

It is hard to give it your all again after just winning the big one.

Click here to read the rest of Keith’s NRL previews.

However the Cowboys look to head into the 2017 season with their heads held high. Their premiership hangover is presumably over and they should have the motivation to win a competition again. But they have lost a few players to other clubs.

Will this player loss harm this team? Or will it be able to win its second premiership in two years?

Johnathon Thurston North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League NRL Finals 2016

Strengths
Johnathan Thurston. I don’t need to say anything else do I? He is one of the best players of the past decade.

Advertisement

Michael Morgan moving to the halves I think was the difference for the Cowboys between them simply making the finals and winning the competition in 2016.

You may have a superstar half but if you want them to be as effective as possible you need a decent partner, and Michael Morgan is more than decent. He is fast, skilled and with his 20 try assists last season he is an excellent half.

Lachlan Coote had a rocky finals series, which was strange considering how good he was for the first half of the year. He is a calm hand at the back that alleviates the kicking pressure off of JT with his good long-kicking game.

Jake Granville may have questions over his fitness but his service is adequate and punishes laziness around the ruck with his great speed and incredible acceleration.

This is a very good second row. Jason Taumalolo is the best lock in the game, if you think otherwise you are incorrect. He made 4454 running metres throughout the season, which equals 165 metres a game or 10.6 metres a run which is ridiculous metres for a prop.

Meanwhile, Gavin Cooper is finally getting the rating he deserves by the fans being a current Queensland representative player. And Ethan Lowe shot out of his shell in 2015 and since then has been producing consistently for this North Queensland based side.

Meanwhile, Coen Hess provides spark off of the bench and while brand new recruit Shaun Fensom will be a defensive stalwart that will always try his guts out and make tackle after tackle after tackle.

Advertisement

Weaknesses
I don’t really like their backs that much, with the exceptions being Lachlan Coote and Kyle Feldt who I think is wonderful.

I know Justin O’Neill represented Australia but I have no idea how or why, since to me he is just the bog standard centre made to look better by those around him. He doesn’t do anything by himself and if the players setting him up struggle he starts to struggle. He isn’t a bad player but he doesn’t wow me.

However he is a step up from Tony Winterstein or Javid Bowen, the latter of whom is a shadow of the Cowboys legend he shares a surname with. Granted none of these players are good but they would struggle to make the run-on sides for other top eight teams with good backs like Penrith or the Broncos.

Also while I like Matt Scott and Scott Bolton, this side just lost half of their forward pack. The Cowboys won a lot of games on the strength of their forward pack just squashing teams at time.

For example look at the 2016 semi-final between the Cowboys and the Broncos where the Cowboys just squashed the Broncos for periods of time in the second half. But losing Ben Hannant and James Tamou hurts it a lot.

So I can’t help but wonder how this team will recover losing the huge metres Tamou makes or the solid work Hannant provided in the middle quarters of the game.

Cowboys' James Tamou makes a run at Warriors' Shaun Johnson in their semi final match. Day Two of the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand. Sunday 16th February 2014. Photo: www.photosport.co.nz

Advertisement

Summary
This is a very good spine. Probably one of the best in the game, with the best player in the game sitting in it. In fact, all over this is still a very good side.

But this side will have to change their game plan a lot now that their forwards are much weaker. They can’t just dominate other teams anymore with their starting Test props. Also this team is going to suffer a lot during Origin, which will hurt them.

So with all of this, I don’t think this team can make the top four. They will make the eight but their side is going to have to cope with not having a top tier prop rotation anymore.

They will be able to score points still and have the ability to beat any squad, but they are starting to show weakness. And with Thurston not getting any younger I think this will be the start of this side slipping down the ladder.

I think the Cowboys will finish the season at sixth, although I wouldn’t be too shocked if they made the top four but would be shocked if they missed the 8. I think they will make it into the second round of the finals but will struggle to get any further.

2016 Finish: fourth
2017 Predicted Finish: sixth

Transfers
Gains: Ben Hampton, Shaun Fensom
Losses: Brandon Smith, James Tamou, Jahrome Hughes, Rory Kostjasyn, Tautau Moga, Ben Hannant

Advertisement

Full-strength team
1. Lachlan Coote
2. Kyle Feldt
3. Javid Bowen
4. Justin O’Neill
5. Antonio Winterstein
6. Michael Morgan
7. Johnathon Thurston
8. Matt Scott
9. Jake Granville
10. Scott Bolton
11. Gavin Cooper
12. Ethan Lowe
13. Jason Taumaulolo
14. Ben Hampton
15. Coen Hess
16. Shaun Fensom
17. Patrick Kaufusi

close