AT TACKING MO VE T O AXIS OF A WESOME
COWBOYS playmaker Michael Morgan has forecast the Cowboys will unleash a three- pronged attacking arsenal this season in a bid to avoid becoming too reliant on the returning Johnathan Thurston.
Without the champion number seven last year, Morgan and fullback Lachlan Coote shouldered most of the creative responsibility.
Morgan said they don’t want to become predictable in Thurston’s farewell season. Early last year with Thurston still in the side, the Cowboys struggled to break down defences once in the danger zone.
Morgan has already noted some slightly different attacking set- ups at training this pre- season and hopes he can maintain the involvement that was rewarded with the Dally M halfback of the year gong in 2017.
“It’s not like we’re going to play a completely different game, it’s just having other options there so we’re not too one dimensional,” Morgan said.
“It would be good if myself, JT and Cootey can work together a bit more and have three of us working together on certain plays or sets. It will make us more dangerous.
“It won’t be about overcalling him ( Thurston) or we’re competing for the ball. If there’s opportunities and I want the ball, I’ll be dominant enough to get it.”
Morgan went from part- time kicker to an elite first- choice option in Thurston’s absence, and he wants to continue to take the pressure off his halves partner.
“It’s not something you’ll ever perfect, but having the extra responsibility last year and doing more of it gave me more of an opportunity to see what kicks work at what time,” Morgan said.
“I was focusing on where we are on the field and thinking about where we want the opposition to get the ball. It was more learning as I went. Having Cootey, who has a good left- foot kicking game, it gives us three strong options.
“If you talk to any fullback that’s the hardest thing sometimes, if you have three kickers in the team you have to cover them all.”
Many pundits are predicting the Cowboys to win the premiership after making last year’s grand final without Thurston and Matt Scott.
But Morgan said they would not assume things would simply unfold because of their strong roster.
“Last year there was no pressure on us from outside, but we had the belief in ourselves we could do something and nearly got there in the end,” he said.
“We’re like everyone else starting from scratch.”