There are few greater sledges you can give an NRL team than calling them pretenders but the Cowboys will not be contenders until they can prove otherwise.
Todd Payten knows they have done little to show they can be title threats in 2024 despite sitting in the top four with a 4-2 record heading into Sunday’s Shark Park showdown with ladder leaders Cronulla.
He conceded as much on Friday when he described his team as operating at around 70% of their full capability despite their lofty ladder position.
They kicked off the season with a bang by thumping the Dolphins and were unconvincing in large parts when they got the better of the Knights, Dragons and Titans, who have all been more cold than hot this season.
And when the Cowboys came up against their only opponent considered a genuine title contender in Brisbane, they were thumped 38-12 and last week they were flat in all departments in losing 27-20 to a Parramatta side missing its star halfback and coming off an embarrassing rout in Canberra.
“We’re all aware that we’re only functioning at about 70% at the moment so that I guess is a little exciting for me – we set 4-2 but nowhere near our best
“We’ve got a lot of improvement and a chance to test it out at a ground that traditionally we haven’t got a great record at.”
The Cowboys can look like world beaters when their pack gets momentum and Scott Drinkwater bobs up on either side as a third playmaker.
But they also seem to go missing for extended periods in matches. The attack becomes too conservative and their forwards don’t throw a lot of variations at opposition teams.
The diminishing return of Jason Taumalolo as their spearhead is a major concern given he is gobbling up seven figures in their salary cap like popcorn.
He has dipped below 100 running metres per game (91) this season for the first time since 2013 when just four seasons ago he was averaging over 200.
A constant string of injuries to his heir apparent, Heilum Luki, has hampered the Cowboys’ potency – he has made just two appearances in 2024 due to an ankle injury after playing just 14 and 13 games in his past two seasons, mainly due to an ACL tear.
North Queensland’s Scott Drinkwater runs the ball. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
He is set to return in a fortnight and could force his way into the Queensland team alongside Jeremiah Nanai and Reuben Cotter with the Maroons missing a few key forwards due to injuries.
Heading into this season, the Cowboys shaped as one of the hardest teams to predict given they went from 15th to third and back to 11th in their first three campaigns under Payten.
The emergence of Drinkwater as an elite fullback is critical to their prospects given that halves duo Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden are steady operators rather than flashy.
Drinkwater trails only Dragons skipper Ben Hunt (10) for try assists with six in as many matches, picking and choosing his moments when to play expansive footy.
His Achilles heel in recent years has been a rocks and diamonds tendency in attack but the 26-year-old NSW Origin bench candidate is shooting the Cowboys in the foot much less frequently by pushing a pass that was never on.
And while Townsend and Dearden don’t often stand out for individual brilliance in attack, they wear plenty of bruises so their teammates outside them can shine.
They are both in the top 10 for engaging the defensive line in the NRL which is a large reason why centre Valentine Holmes is equal fourth overall for line break assists and Murray Taulagi is ranked the same for line breaks.
Payten said his team does not lack confidence and that is shown by the fact they rank first in points scored at 29.5 (nearly four in front of their next rival).
For anyone who still thinks set completions are key to success on the scoreboard, the Cowboys rank last in the league at 75% but still manage to dominate possession – only Canberra (54%) is better than their 52% return for time with the ball in hand.
“They’re willing to back themselves in any situation which can be a bit of a curse at times but I can’t fault our attitude, desire and confidence amongst what we’ve got within the team,” Payten said.
The Cowboys have been blessed with a relatively soft schedule to start the season and even though they have the Sharks and premiers Penrith over the next fortnight, they then face another tame stretch of the Dolphins, Titans, Rabbitohs and Tigers.
But the flip side is the second half of their season is a nightmare with nine of their final 12 matches against teams who look like featuring in the top eight this year.
Which should shape as the perfect opportunity to prove they’re contenders and not pretenders after all.
damo
Roar Rookie
As a Cowboys supporter, if we make the 8 I'd call that a successful season, no matter what happens in the finals. We've got some very good players, we can do some very good things, but I don't think anyone of the top teams are getting worried.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Not good travellers, your mob. Hoping they bash the sharks, best of luck.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I agree, its not all doom and gloom. Today will tell us a lot. i expect the Sharkies to have a bit too much firepower for us but I want us to be in the contest . Keeping them to 18 or under would make my weekend.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Jimmmy, in addition since the 2022 semi, you’ve lost Gilbert & Hammer (guns), Lemuelu & Leilua (ok depth) plus Hess injured for the season & Luki too often. Your rookie centres will be far better than Hiku was so all is not lost. I’d try Clifford too, Townsend is slowing by the week.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Age eventually catches up with everyone Jimmmy. You’ve got JT13 not playing like the earlier version of a real 13, Townsend couldn’t run out of sight on a dark night, Granville as bench cover for any injury in the backline coming on in the pack, try-scorer Nanai who has a regular missed tackle in his game and rookie centres paired with Holmes. Add the fact that your club record try scoring winger mixes incredible feats with perplexing errors and you’re doing ok. They’ll probably make the 8.
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Yer thats what i dont get from keeping Townsend at halfback. Everything you mentioned above. I dont think Clifford is the greatest halfback but he would be the same/better than Townsend with a much higher chance to improve as he is 8 years younger than Chad. In saying that i havent seen any QLD cup games so no idea how Clifford is going
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
Now Jimmy it's unkind to speak ill of the dead. You shouldn't be wishing bad things like that on the Blues!
NQR
Roar Rookie
Broncos at home with Reynolds are very different. It’s a different team to the Broncos that played the Panthers at the foot of the mountains. Sharks have beaten who? The Rabbits without Johnson, Mitchell, Arrow, Cook benched, Tatola gone after 13min and Murray gone before half time.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I don't really what to say anything more about Drinkwater. He's our FB for 2 more seasons and we need to learn to live with it. Make him better Toddy.! I will say though I would love the Blues to pick him.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I think everyone agrees overall the Sharks have had two years of sorbent as far as the draw goes. Personally I don't care too much at all what we draw. Preseason last year you would say the Warriors was a soft game but they go top 4 so it's a hard game really. Parra rated hard but not so much. This year South's rated hard but really soft. The draw is what it is and really you need to wait to year end to see whether it was in fact easy or hard.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
My problems with the Chad His long kicking game is actually a pretty short kicking game. End over end drop punts that my Aunt Flora could catch. His defence is average to poor. He can make really bad decisions at the worst possible times. He was never quick but age has slowed him up even more . Imo Duffy is not ready let’s play Clifford. He can tackle , he can kick but unfortunately he also makes poor decisions as well. He isn’t perfect but he’s a better choice.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
How do you solve a problem like the Cowboys ? Well getting them all together and singing ' the Hills are Alive... might help a bit but sorting out their defence is a much bigger priority. We are conceding over 25 points a game and apart from the Broncs we haven't faced any teams with masterful attack. We are scoring around 22 so we can cross the chalk but then we quickly give back the points we have scored. Stop the other team from scoring is my advice. In 22 our D was exceptionally good and we make top 4 . Why don't we look at what we did in 22 ? We had Cotter and Gilbert lead the line speed . We made the others follow. It was exceptionally fast . In the backs we often employed Val as a shooter to cut things off before things got dangerous. He is great at that. Currently our line speed is slow, we are getting killed in the ruck and on the edges we are 'waiting , waiting , waiting . This seems to be our new style, Admit it's crap and go back to what worked in 22.
3 R M
Roar Rookie
....
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
You don't necessarily need a star halfback if you have stars in the other spine positions, but what he needs is to do the basics well. Direct the team down the park, give good service, kick well on the final tackle. He could definitely improve, I wouldn't say he would definitely need to go for the Cowboys to be premiership contenders.
NQR
Roar Rookie
The Dolphins, Dragons and Broncos with Reynolds at home aren’t easy?5 away and 2 home games in the first 7 ? No one can talk about a teams draw until after half way through the season IMO.
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Yer I agree that Townsend is not one of the biggest issues. There are a few issues that i would have before him. Definitely errors and defence like you mentioned. And like Payten mentioned, I think they are playing at about 70% of their potential so lots to improve on But this article was about the Cowboys being title contenders. Townsend is very serviceable and seems like a good bloke who gives his all. But i dont think they will be title contenders with Townsend at halfback. It puts too much pressure on Drinkwater and Dearden in attack. I really hope I am wrong though and the Cowboys become title contenders with him at halfback
NQR
Roar Rookie
I can’t say I’m overly enthusiastic about the way my team has been performing. Errors galore, execution average to mediocre, attention to detail ordinary, many good players playing below their ability. Positives are they have secured a few wins more than their usual at this time of the year. When they get it right they can rattle up the points. They can easily improve handling and execution issues as they get future into the season. Hopefully not making errors early in sets will help a lot with the defensive alarm bells because they only play with 12 men when defending. I can’t believe the Drinkwater fans. He literally runs and hides at every opportunity. God I wish he had something to offer defensively. Anyway I should stop before I start crying about that topic. Lastly I don’t get the comments 6 games in about soft draws? They have been beaten away by teams travelling okay. Dragons and Dolphins have beaten a couple of fancied teams. Knights have certainly not been easy. They should never have lost to the Eels and basically dropped the opportunity to be in the top 4.
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
I think if you look at Cowboys performances this year, Townsend, while not setting the world on fire, is not the biggest issue. The attack is actually going well when not turning over the ball with errors. Despite having the worst completion rate, the attack has been pretty good. The errors are the biggest issue, even more so than the defence to my mind. The defence can and should improve, but the more errors you make, the more you have defend and the more pressure your defence comes under. In short, I'm happy to persist with Townsend for the time being, because I want to see how we perform after weve addressed our biggest issues.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Cowboys had an ‘incredibly soft schedule’ last year as well and somehow stayed unanswerable to it compared to the raucous pile on the Sharks endured.
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Payten is a smart coach. I agree the Cowboys are playing at 70%. Will be interesting to see how they go this weekend. Drinkwater is nowhere near an Origin spot. His defence is very ordinary and his positioning not great. He wouldn't be in the top 10 fullbacks atm but he looks great in attack and can do freakish things so the media loves him. Hopefully he improves his defence/positioning a lot. Really need a halfback in my opinion. They rely on Drinkwater too much in attack. Townsend best years were years ago. I am hoping Clifford gets a run soon. Not sure what they will do with Taumololo. Showed glimpses of his best last week. But at his price that is nowhere good enough. Mclean is still going well though. Cotter not having his best year but improving. Finefeuiaki is an outstanding talent and hoping the cowboys can keep him but someone will throw a bucketload of money at him. As good a servant that Taumololo has been i would be happy to let him go to keep Finefeuiaki at the club. Finefeuiaki , Luki, Cotter, Neame, Robson, Nanai is an excellent young forward pack that could give the premiership a shake in a few years with a quality halfback