COOPER: BE CONSISTENT
Clubs cling to their dreams
HE HAS achieved just about everything the NRL has to offer, from premierships to State of Origin glory, but the back end of Gavin Cooper’s career is set to be the toughest.
After two lacklustre seasons which had the Cowboys relinquish their mantle as regular title contenders, the North
Queensland outfit could well miss the finals for a third straight season.
In the past two weeks they have been overawed by quality opposition in Parramatta and Sydney Roosters, each demoralising the side with second-half romps.
Throughout these contests there were signs of life from the Cowboys that they could go toe-to-toe with teams considered the benchmark.
However Cooper said inconsistency and defensive fragility had crept into their game, and it was a trend they needed to buck fast.
He said the players would often speak about taking it one set at a time, but the reality was they needed to make it about one play at a time.
“Last week we showed we can put a kick-off down and do two or three good tackles then really ease off and they make an offload or a quick play-theball and before you know it we’re down on our tryline,” Cooper said.
“I’m guilty of it as well, just missing an assignment at times and letting someone through, and a team like the Roosters get you on the back foot pretty quickly.
“I won’t call it a lack of effort all the time. Sometimes we play a little bit dumb because we put too much effort into trying to change it by ourselves instead of working as a team. It’s tough right now.”
North Queensland has 10 days between Thursday’s fulltime whistle and their Sunday afternoon clash with Penrith to get their mindset right and rest some weary bodies.
“When you get your arse handed to you like we have the last couple of weeks, the next game can’t come quick enough,” Cooper said.
“I think our reaction in the first half, on the back of what happened last week, was pretty good.”