Humbling to be Cowboys top gun
BEING named to captain the team this week for the first time is pretty humbling, but the possibility of taking on the job long term isn’t something I’ve thought about.
It feels a bit weird to be honest, as it doesn’t seem that long ago I was the young kid just coming into first grade. Just because I’ve been named captain doesn’t mean I’ll change anything I do, other than the toss before the game, and Greeny will give me an idea of whether we receive or kick off anyway.
Growing up in Townsville I know how big a deal the club is to people here, having come through the grades and watching them on weekends.
I was never even a captain at any stage through my juniors and I’ve got the job on the back of some bad luck to other people with Coops joining JT and Matt Scott on the sidelines with injury.
I’m very grateful Greeny has given me that responsibility, but at the moment it’s certainly not long term.
Down the road when a few guys move on I might think about it as something I might like to do long term, but I’m just filling in.
I’ll try and lead by example as I don’t have any motivational speeches in me. I hope none of the boys are expecting that, because they’ll be waiting for a while.
Tomorrow night’s clash at Penrith is extra important considering where both teams are on the ladder, especially after losing two in a row.
We don’t want to rely on other results to make the eight, we want to be playing good footy and tie up our spot early.
Much has been said and written about the extra playmaking responsibility I’ve been taking on with JT out, and our fullback Lachlan Coote should get plenty of credit for helping ease the load.
He’s a real loud voice on the field. You might be coming around on one side of the field and he’s already got our attacking shape set.
I only have to fall into what he’s called and it’s definitely a huge help.
He’s not known much for it externally but he’s certainly a smart footballer when it comes to calling the right play at the right time.
Finally, I’d like to pay tribute to Ray Thompson, who announced he will be retiring at the end of the season after dealing with several injuries during his career.
I don’t think there’d be too many others who would have played the games he has this season given what he has to go through to get himself right to play. He’s tough, well liked and respected in the group. He’s had that many injuries, so to play 111 NRL games is very impressive.