Under- 20s Cowboys trio take it up a level

COWBOYS under- 20s coach Aaron Payne believes three of his charges will return better players after they were selected in the Junior Kangaroos and Junior Kiwis sides to play in Canberra on Saturday.

But he feels a couple of other Cowboys were unlucky to be overlooked after their strong start to the season.

Caleb Fuimaono and Emry Pere were picked in the Junior Kiwis forward pack, while exciting outside back Enari Tuala was chosen at centre for the Junior Kangaroos.

Despite being belted at home 60- 12 by Parramatta last week, the Cowboys are in the Holden Cup top four with six wins from eight games.

“All three of them have had a good start to the season and it’s good for those guys who made it,” Payne said.

“Any time players get a chance to play at a higher level is good for their development, and they bring that back to us.

“I don’t want to go naming names ( about which Cowboys were unlucky not to be picked) but I thought right across the board we’ve been pretty strong.

“Obviously the result on the weekend was a massive step backward and we were very disappointing, but I thought another couple of guys might have been in line.”

The Cowboys will be without the trio for Saturday’s catch- up match against the Gold Coast Titans at Cudgen, after it was postponed in round four.

Even with last round’s blowout loss the young Cowboys hold a solid 6- 2 record.