‘THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL’

Cowboys cult hero Ashton Sims says setbacks will steel club

RUGBY league greats have not been broken by hardship. According to former Cowboys star Ashton Sims, the setbacks are what define the athlete.

The North Queensland cult hero endured his own uphill battles on and off the field during his career, and how he overcame them inspired his current work with The Mental Health Movement.

There he has helped educate many throughout the coronavirus pandemic on how to avoid or cope with the onset of mental illness, and he said those strategies could be adopted to his former Cowboys as they struggle with their current form slump.

As the losses have piled up, a frequent point made has been that the side have been in each contest. But when something goes against them, the players’ heads drop and they do not have the resilience to cast their misgivings aside.

Sims said when the pressure mounts support networks outside of football become crucial, however the COVID bubble and biosecurity measures players must operate within have hindered the ability to make full use of them.

His brothers – Tariq and Korbin – are both enduring the circumstances now with the St George-Illawarra Dragons, and he said it “must feel like groundhog day, every day”.

So for a side this young and inexperienced, dealing with insecurities on and off the field become that much harder.

The Cowboys are blessed with young talent, however because of that youth, are yet to be steeled to the daily rigours and mental grind of the NRL.

Sims said simple but effective strategies such as writing down the anxieties that creep in as the losses pile up can enable someone to rationalise their approach to situations.

Trying new things to rid the mind of negatives, or give the individual a distraction, have also proved effective.

He said these concepts were designed to be proactive, not waiting until the hard times start to begin before adopting coping mechanisms.

“I’m never going to say young guys don’t have resilience, it’s just put in those situations early in your career it’s totally different to playing junior footy.

“You’re up against seasoned grown veterans and men of the game, you can only test yourself in the culture of the NRL.

That’s when you get those life experiences, that’s where you test yourself physically, mentally and emotionally.

“(They need to) understand the hard times and struggles is what makes you, you never see hard times in life as a time to stop. If they can find that resilience there is no knowing how high the ceiling is for this Cowboys squad.’’

Cowboys director of football Peter Parr said despite the losses, there was light at the end of the tunnel.

“Canberra and Souths were top-eight teams and we took them to the limit, we scored the same tries as the Raiders and we scored more than the Rabbitohs and should have won that game,” he said.

“I think in 12 months we won’t be losing those close games. There is a lot to like about our young players, there is a fair bit to be excited about.”

While the Cowboys are reeling from seven straight losses ahead of their clash with Newcastle this weekend, Sims said there were plenty of times in his career when he and his teammates picked themselves up from a similar predicament.

Playing for the Broncos in 2009, his side lost 56-0 to the Raiders in Round 21, pushing them out of the top eight. They fought back to make the preliminary final.