Diabolical defence hits Cows

NICK WRIGHT

FORWARD Coen Hess has labelled the Cowboys’ second half against the Roosters “diabolical” as the team searches for answers amid a harrowing run of form.

Hess and his left edge teammates were torn to shreds by a rampant Sydney outfit, with Matt Ikuvalu the beneficiary in a five-try performance.

The 23-year-old helped himself to a consolation try late in the contest, however, it did little to downplay the lapses in defence that have hindered the side since the NRL resumed out of the coronavirus hiatus.

Hess came into the line-up when the club was riding high on a mountain of success.

Debuting in their 2015 premiership year, he established himself as a first grade regular in their following preliminary finals campaign before representing Queensland during North Queensland’s 2017 charge to the grand final.

Now it is foreign territory for the bullocking backrower, as the side faces a third consecutive year without finals football.

“It’s extremely tough,” Hess said.

“We’re copping a fair bit of criticism at the moment, but as a club, I think we just have to keep digging deep, keep turning up.”