‘Young guns won’t crack’
Townsend confident
CHAD Townsend has declared North Queensland’s band of young guns will not choke in the sudden-death furnace as the Cowboys co-captain braces for a halfback blockbuster against Eels rival Mitchell Moses.
North Queensland is primed for the biggest regional game in its 27-year history when Townsend leads the Cowboys out in the first grand-final qualifier on Townsville soil against Parramatta on Friday night.
The Eels are mired in the longest title drought of any current club – they haven’t won the premiership for 36 years – and there are fears the youthful Cowboys could crumble under the pressure of delivering in front of a 25,000-sellout at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
A staggering 10 Cowboys have never played in a preliminary final. They include Scott Drinkwater, Murray Taulagi, Tom Dearden, Tom Gilbert, Jeremiah Nanai, Reece Robson, Reuben Cotter, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Luciano Leilua and Griffin Neame.
But premiership playmaker Townsend has backed the Cowboys’ finals rookies to handle the heat, pointing to the cool heads and mental toughness that inspired their epic 32-30 golden-point defeat of Cronulla a fortnight ago.
“Our younger guys will not crack,” said Townsend, who steered Cronulla to the 2016 premiership.
“We have a lot of younger guys who were exposed to the Origin arena earlier in the year.
“Guys like Jeremiah, ‘Rubes’ (Cotter), Tommy Dearden and Tom Gilbert played for Queensland in front of some big crowds, in some big stadiums in some big moments.
“This is what the finals series is all about so they are well prepared. Our more inexperienced guys have come on in leaps and bounds this year and it’s because of the hard work they have put in.
“We showed against Cronulla we won’t be overawed by the sudden-death finals games and we’ll be ready again for the Eels.”
Townsend says he is ready to fight fire with fire with the inform Moses and the 217-game halfback explained why the Cowboys can defy the odds by qualifying for this year’s grand final.
“We can definitely win the premiership from here, I have no doubt about that,” he said.
“We have a game plan that we have modelled through the whole season and that model can stand up to the big teams in the big games.
“For us, we play an exciting brand of football, we aren’t afraid to move the ball and chance our arm, but we also have the control and the discipline to defend well under pressure.
“This game will bring out the best in me, I love these challenges. Mitchell Moses is a quality player and has had a great season, but I want to take on the best.”