CLIFFORD READY TO STAR
TULLY youngster Jake Clifford has vowed to give Michael Morgan a run for his money next year in the race to wear the coveted Cowboys No. 7 jersey, made famous by the retiring Johnathan Thurston.
The general consensus is that Morgan is favourite to claim the halfback role after his brilliant performances there, when Thurston was out injured, propelled the Cowboys to last year’s grand final.
But Clifford’s superb debut Queensland Cup season with Northern Pride could convince the club to throw him into the hot seat alongside Morgan in the halves next season.
The 20-year-old will look to steer the Queensland under-20s Origin team to its first-ever win over New South Wales tonight at Suncorp Stadium, after a torn groin denied him the opportunity last year.
Clifford re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of 2020 earlier this season and with the team out of finals contention, there’s some chance he may get a taste of NRL this year.
But if not, the Tully player is content to bide his time.
“If an opportunity comes I’ll definitely take it with both hands, but we’ve got John at halfback there and he’ll do his thing this year,” Clifford said.
“If I don’t get a game this year, so be it, but I’ll be putting my best foot forward over the next pre-season to try and cement a spot in that position.
“I have a lot of tough competition for the halves spot, which is good.
“Hopefully it could be me (next year) but if not, I’ll go back to the Pride and play some good footy there.”
Clifford is in the enviable position of having direct access to the minds of some of the best halfbacks of the modern era.
He has benefited greatly from watching the professionalism of Thurston day-in, dayout, plus the knowledge of Cowboys coach Paul Green.
Clifford has also picked the brain of Maroons assistant coach Scott Prince this week, and played his first few games for the Pride alongside Dally M medallist Todd Carney in the halves.
“It’s just the way he (Thurston) is on the field and the way he organises with his game management, his kicking game, just everything he puts 110 per cent in,” Clifford said.
“I try and do the exact same thing week in week out.
“Having Toddy there for the first six weeks let me find some form. I was organising the team and he was playing off it.
“Learning off JT is awesome, I’ve loved every minute of it but coming down to Origin and getting to question another Origin halfback and premiership-winning player like Princey is beneficial to my game.”
On paper the Maroons look a strong chance to break their under-20s hoodoo, with Clifford and Titans NRL regular AJ Brimson to form a lethal halves combination.
Fellow Cowboys Kurt Wilshire and Murray Taulagi were also included, while Logan Bayliss was named 18th man.
“The Maroons have never won it in the 20s, which gives us a bit of extra motivation,” Clifford said. “I’ve played with AJ before (with Qld under-16s) and we mix really well. He’s a very good runner of the ball so I’ll do most of the organising, and he’ll play what’s in front of him.”