RUGBY LEAGUE Anderson ‘ can play role for Cowboys’
HE continues to carve up the Queensland Cup, but Townsville Blackhawks coach Kristian Woolf hopes Carlin Anderson will do likewise in the NRL after another sterling display in Saturday’s 36- 14 win over Sunshine Coast at Jack Manski Oval.
Anderson bagged a dou- ble in the victory over the second- placed Falcons, which sent another warning to the league after they also beat top three side Redcliffe a fortnight ago.
With Kalyn Ponga heading to Newcastle next year, Anderson has an opportunity to establish himself as Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote’s understudy after he signed a two- year deal with the club earlier this year.
“He’s got the potential to be ( the back- up), he’s certainly improving,” Woolf said. “When he came here there was certain areas of his game he needed to work on, but he’s improved in leaps and bounds in his defensive positional play in particular.
“He is starting to put consistent performances together, and to be a first grader that’s important.
“He’s not just a fullback either, he could do a real good job in the NRL as a winger because he goes looking for the ball.”
The win allows the Blackhawks to solidify sixth spot on the ladder, with winger Samsen O’Neill also crossing twice in the seven- tries- tothree triumph in his return from a head knock.
“I was very happy with it,” Woolf said. “While the scoreboard certainly shows we were dominant, I thought we were probably even more dominant than that.
“The really impressive thing was the way we were able to defend and the pressure we put on them.
“We’ve being putting too much pressure on ourselves with errors and penalties, but we were good enough to defend it and it’s how you react to errors.” The win was made more poignant by the fact the Blackhawks were without regular playmaking general Kyle Laybutt, who made his NRL debut in the Cowboys’ loss to the Storm in Melbourne. The Blackhawks face another tough test on the road against Tweed Heads next week, but may be without Blake Leary after he was put on report for a shoulder charge.
“We can compete with anyone. The win over Redcliffe was another strong result,” Woolf said.