Winger learns big lesson in discipline
MacDonald described his tardiness as an “honest mistake” but said he would continue to use the setback as motivation to cement his spot in the game-day line-up.
“It’s either you can learn from it or just keep worrying about. I just put it behind me and put my best foot forward and showed Greeny that I want to be here,” he said.
“It was just a mistake and I won’t do it again. I had a game with the Pride there and I played as well as I could to get that chance to play in Round 1.
“I think it was more just I need to fix little things outside of footy. I’ve been pretty good being on time.
“I was more angry at myself that I missed training and missed that trial game against Melbourne, but that was on me and I’m glad I’ve learnt from that and pushed forward ….”
MacDonald said it was a surreal moment to pull on a Cowboys jersey having grown up in Cairns and he expected that feeling to kick up a notch in his first Queensland derby against the Broncos tonight.
The former Kirwan High student said other clubs were envious of the rivalry the Cowboy and Broncos had built since their 2015 grand final clash and he was excited to finally experience it on the field.
MacDonald will be tasked with marking prolific Broncos winger Corey Oates, who has scored 10 tries in his past five NRL games, but the Cowboys recruit was confident he could keep Oates in check.
“I went against him last year for the Dragons in the semis and we got up on them so hopefully I can do it again,” MacDonald said.