Green’s giving boys yet another chance
COWBOYS coach Paul Green has resisted the urge to wield the selection axe, but he admits “something has to change” for them to avoid a sixth straight defeat.
Green has stuck with the same 17 from last weekend’s loss to the Bulldogs as they prepare to host the much- improved Gold Coast Titans at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday night.
The Cowboys have failed to live up to their tag as preseason title favourites and find themselves languishing in 15th on the ladder with just one victory – against the Sharks in the opening round.
But Green has remained fiercely loyal to his experienced players since their 2015 grand final triumph and argued that starting from scratch with a new- look team would be an over- reaction to their early- season form.
“I looked at it ( making mass changes), but the guys probably deserve another chance to try and get it right,” Green said.
“You can’t keep doing what you’ve always done and expect a different result. That’s the definition of insanity, but I’ve said all along we’re not too far off.
“There’s a few things we need to fix and fix now, but we don’t need to scratch just yet.
“They’re clear on where we need to be better and we all need to be better. It’s another opportunity for us to do that on the weekend.”
Green insisted he hadn’t put any individual players on notice, believing that the Cowboys had to focus on playing start from better as a team to turn their season around against the Titans.
The coach has been happy with his side’s effort and intensity on the training paddock, but he felt they were putting themselves under pressure during games with too many early errors.
“I’ve been confident every week so far, ( but) it’s about getting out and getting the job done,” Green said.
“I thought last week was our best week at training, but I also said that the most important part of the week was the game on the weekend and that’s the bit we didn’t quite get right.
“At the moment there’s probably just too many of us that have got that one bad error in us at a critical time.
“We’re probably missing the moment there a little bit individually.
“This week it’s about getting that training at least at the same levels we had last week, if not hopefully a little bit better, but making sure we get Saturday right.”