Morgo may be left holding the baby
RETURNING Cowboys star Michael Morgan will be a minute by minute proposition for Sunday’s clash against the Titans as he and his wife Brianna await the birth of their first child.
The star playmaker has been named to make his comeback from shoulder surgery for the Round 13 game on the Gold Coast, but Cowboys officials have revealed their contingency plan should Morgan need to rush to his wife’s side.
“It’s something we can’t control. If Michael wasn’t able to make the game, Jake Clifford’s in the squad and he’ll just come straight in there,” Cowboys interim coach Josh Hannay said.
“I’m pretty good as a coach, but I can’t control when she does give birth to the little one, as much as I’d like to be able to. We’ll see what happens there.”
Brianna is due to give birth to the couple’s first child in the coming days, with the pair sharing their excitement on social media.
“Any day now,” a heavily pregnant Brianna captioned a recent picture of herself and Morgan at home.
Morgan comes into the side at halfback in place of Clifford, who has been moved to the extended bench.
Morgan played his last game for the Cowboys in Round 2, and his experience and game management have been sorely missed.
The Cowboys have struggled with last-play options in particular, and it was evident in last week’s 14-12 loss to the Raiders.
“He will give us a lot there,” Hannay said.
“Our young guys have been doing their best and I’ve been really happy with them for the most part, but it’s going to be great having Michael back.”
Hannay said Clifford would be given the support to rediscover his form. “I had a number of difficult conversations this morning, there’s a few changes to the side, but Jake was disappointed,” he said.
“We spoke about his game, where I think he needs to improve, and again the point I stress to him is that it’s not up to him to just go away on his own and fix his game. We need to create a learning environment where we’re helping players like Jake go away and get better.
“So it’s my job as a coach to help Jake in the areas he needs to improve.”
Morgan is set to partner
Ben Hampton in yet another new starting halves combination for the Cowboys, who have named debutant Emry Pere on the bench.
The Cowboys will welcome back centre Tom Opacic and forward Josh McGuire, who missed last week’s clash through suspension.