NRL Roberts No. 1 in Coote’s opinion
HE’S won two Dally M medals at fullback, but Cowboys custodian Lachlan Coote believes Tyrone Roberts’ form in the No. 1 jersey justifies Gold Coast’s decision to shift NSW Origin star Jarryd Hayne to the centres.
Hayne is on a reported $ 1.2 million a year deal with the Titans and established himself as the game’s best player as a fullback before his NFL sabbatical with the San Francisco 49ers.
A huge injury toll, including Hayne, forced the Titans to shift regular half Roberts down back, and his creativity and speed has suited the position perfectly.
He has relished a chance to pick and choose his moments off the back of young halves Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey, and has already racked up three tries and four try assists in eight games at fullback.
“He’s playing some good footy, isn’t he? There’s no doubt he’s a quality football player and stuff happens around him,” Coote said.
“He’s creating stuff out of nothing and we really have to work hard on shutting him down.”
Nullifying Taylor is another major focus for the Cowboys, with Fox Sports Stats accrediting him with 19 try assists, the most in the league.
“We have to be ready for anything. They’re high on offloads and their individual players can create stuff from nothing,” Coote said.
“It’s about us being focused on every individual play.
“Ash has been great at getting them around the field and his last- play options have been good. We have to put a lot of work into him, and put some pressure on him.”
The seventh- placed Cowboys are desperate to atone for their late fade- out at Cronulla last start, where they let slip a 14- 0 halftime lead.
With halfback Johnathan Thurston still sidelined with a shoulder injury, the heat has been on Coote, Queensland Origin star Michael Morgan and hooker Jake Granville to take more responsibility.
North Queensland’s lasttackle plays were terrible in the second half against the Sharks, which has been a major focus this week.
Coote has vowed he won’t take a back seat when Thurston returns in order to take some pressure off the star halfback. “We’ve got to keep doing that, the less pressure on Johnno the better he is,” Coote said.
“We definitely have to step up there, take on that role and execute our plays a bit better.
“My main focus is helping the boys out to get the kicks on the money.” CowboysCo back- rower Hess and Titans prop Wallace ( left), won’t be short on motivation after Queensland’s pack was dominateddo by New South Wales on Wednesday night. The Maroons are crying out for fresh blood and both youngsters werewe unlucky not to be picked for Origin I. Strong performances over the next two weeks will surely seal their selection. on. TheTh first half of Wednesday night’s clash wasn’t just quick, it was Usain Bolt in fast forward quick. The Cowboys fiveeighthei played 52 minutes off the bench, about double the time he usually gets, and much of that was in the middle. TheyT will rely heavily on him again with Johnathan Thurston still out injured, but expect Lachlan Coote to do more ball playing than usual to give him a breather. They’veTh had plenty of experience playing without their main men this year with Thurston, Matt Scott and Justin O’NeillO’ all suffering serious injuries already. Thankfully, the Cowboys will be without their Origin players for just one matchm against Melbourne Storm in Round 15 who won’t have several big names of their own. The Cowboys have uncharacteristicallyun lost three of six home games this year, and they’ll desperate to improve that against the Titans.