Cowboys must step up on field: Williams

FORMER North Queensland Cowboys flyer Ty Williams has backed rampaging forward Josh McGuire’s comments, putting the onus on players to step up and stop the slide.

McGuire slammed his teammates’ efforts earlier this week, and said the blame should be aimed at the players and not coach Paul Green.

Green’s position has been under intense scrutiny after recent performances, but Williams, who played 151 NRL games for the club, said the buck stopped with the players.

“It’s an interesting one,” Williams said.

“I think Greeny isn’t the only (coach) that’s under the pump at the moment.

“At the end of the day, when you cross the stripe, it’s the 13 blokes out there. The areas that they were poor in, it wasn’t coaching stuff, it was desire and ability to do things.

“You don’t drop the footy in the second tackle of the game and let them roll on you straight away.”

Williams wasn’t the only former Cowboy to question the players’ desire after the loss.

“Sometimes I think we need to check the team for a heartbeat at stages, the way they are playing,” Williams’ former Cowboys’ teammate Brent Tate told Fox League.

While North Queensland are missing the likes of Michael Morgan, Valentine Holmes and Jordan McLean, the effort of players on the field was most concerning.

Williams said this Friday would be a chance for the

Cowboys to turn things around, with opponents Newcastle setting a benchmark.

“You see them play 90 minutes a couple of weeks ago, when they were down to 14 men, and the confidence they got out of that moving forward has got them on a really good roll,” he said.

“I think that’s the desire the Cowboys need to be chasing.”

The Cowboys have won just two games all year and have a tough month ahead of them, with games against the top four teams in the competition.