JT’s advice could rescue Laybutt
ROOKIE Cowboys playmaker Kyle Laybutt will turn to Johnathan Thurston for help as he fights to prove he is the man to replace the North Queensland legend.
Laybutt has played the past two games for the Cowboys but is under pressure to keep his spot in the halves following the arrival of Te Maire Martin in Townsville.
The Cowboys snared Martin from Penrith to provide playmaking cover and it has proven to be an astute signing after Thurston’s season was ended by a shoulder injury suffered in Origin II in Sydney.
Martin, a former Kiwis Test representative, was a highly rated under-20s talent who failed to kick on at the foot of the Blue Mountains, managing 13 NRL appearances.
He is in the frame to make his debut for the Cowboys in Canberra on Saturday after coach Paul Green refused to guarantee Laybutt’s position in the team.
Green must find a solution to partner Michael Morgan for the rest of 2017 if the Cowboys are to mount a premiership charge without Thurston.
Laybutt, 21, was a passenger for too much of Saturday’s win over the Panthers in Townsville and said he would seek advice from Thurston.
“I will go to Johnno first thing (this) week and ask him a few things defensively and how to get into the game,” he said. “I didn’t get in the game in the first half.
‘‘I was pretty filthy with that. I need to be more confident and dominant.”
Morgan stepped up in the absence of Thurston to rescue the Cowboys from what would have been a disappointing loss.
With Ray Thompson battling a chronic knee injury, either Laybutt or Martin must step up if the Cowboys are to be contenders in September.
Green said he wanted to see Laybutt get more involved.
“His debut (a 23-22 loss to Melbourne at AAMI Park in Round 15) was good once he warmed into the game,” Green said.
“He drifted out of the game (against Penrith) a couple of times.
“He’s a pretty quiet sort of bloke. For a halfback you need to be able to impose yourself when you have to. He just needs to get a bit more involved when we need him to.
“You pick your team weekto-week based on form.
‘‘I’m not going to guarantee anyone’s position for the rest of the year.
“They’ve got to play consistently and do their job.”