Cutting rivals off at the pass

RUGBY LEAGUE HE’S the defending Dally M medallist universally regarded as the game’s most devastating ballrunner.

But Cowboys star Jason Taumalolo has been taking ball-playing tutorials from a lower-profile teammate in order to make his running game even more lethal.

The Kiwi international has been picking the brain of skilful Cowboys prop John Asiata to develop a pass at the line and an offload into his game.

With prop Matt Scott out for the season, James Tamou now at Penrith and Ben Hannant retired, rival teams have devoted much of their attention to the Kiwi lock.

It has done little to quell the 24-year-old’s impact, given he is averaging a league-best 205 metres a game this year, and is coming off a huge 237-metre, one try, eight tackle bust performance against the Panthers.

Injured Cowboys co-captain Johnathan Thurston said last month Taumalolo “could play smarter” by adding different elements to his game to make it tougher for defences to hone in on him.

“Greeny (coach Paul Green) has brought that up too and it’s something I’ve been working on his year, finding a bit of second phase and every now and then passing the ball,” Taumalolo said.

“I’ve been working on it with Johnny, he’s obviously a silky ballplayer and he’s been giving me tips. It’s always great to have other additions to my game. Teams are game planning that around me and getting a lot of numbers at me, it will definitely help if I can find that extra pass.”

Cowboys prop Scott Bolton, who will play his 200th game in Saturday’s crunch game with Cronulla, said adding flair would only make Taumalolo tougher to handle.

“With Matty gone he’s our main metre eater and because of that, teams do target him a lot and try and take his time off him,” Bolton said.

“It (ball skills) will make him a more dangerous player. It will give him more space for his running game down the track.

“Myself and Johnny and our edge back rowers can help him out there by demanding some footy and running support line off him. It would take a lot of players away from him trying to target him.”

Taumalolo believes the eighth-placed Cowboys, who have been brave in three straight losses to top eight teams despite a huge injury list, can right the ship before it’s too late.

“Now we’ve lost a fair bit of experience in the team it’s time for everyone to step up, not just as players but as leaders in their own way,” he said.

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