COWBOYS NEED SPUR
MAROONS legend Justin Hodges has urged the struggling Cowboys to rediscover the siege mentality that propelled them to last year’s grand final after their nightmare loss to Parramatta.
But he acknowledged it’s easier said than done to find confidence as the pressure mounts on the pre- season premiership favourites.
While coach Paul Green and captain Johnathan Thurston believe the major issue is between the players’ ears, statistics show how toothless their attack has been in 2018.
Now 4- 10, the Cowboys may only be able to afford one more loss to play finals and have a tough draw the next month, beginning with the Warriors at 1300SMILES Stadium on Friday.
“In our game, confidence is everything. When you lose confidence in yourself, you lose confidence in your teammates and the game plan,” Fox League analyst Hodges said.
“It can take a long while to get it back and when things are going bad, you look to blame everyone else around you.
“At the moment, they have to take some accountability as a team and as individuals.”
Hodges believes they may have fallen into the trap of assuming everything would fall into place after Thurston and Matt Scott returned from injury this season.
Without their co- skippers last year, the Cowboys relied on grit and resolve to surge from eighth spot to the grand final.
They need to start building back into what they did last year, because they played for each other,” Hodges said.
“They had that bond, it didn’t matter what the outside world was saying.
“That’s probably been the Cowboys’ downfall a little bit is when you add JT and Scotty back in, they’re two great players and you look to them more than you usually would.
“You can just see that when you throw those blokes into the side they’re waiting for them to do something, but they have to keep bringing what they brought last when they were out.”
Statistics never tell the full story, but numbers compiled by Fox Sports Lab comparing last season to this year’s don’t paint a pretty picture.
Last year the Cowboys were one of the stingiest sides for errors, and their average of 9.93 per game was the fifth best in the league. They have nosedived to dead last in this category in 2018 with 12.29.
They boasted the year league’s best competition rate in 2017, but have dropped to 14th this year. They made 20 against the Eels, giving them no chance to build on a strong win at Manly the week before.
“( It’s) just basic footy. Catch the ball first before you pass, that would be nice,” Thurston said after the Eels loss.
“( Incorrect) play the balls, it’s stuff you’re taught as a kid and we were very ordinary in that aspect tonight.
“Individually, it’s your re- sponsibility for completion rate.”
They averaged just over 19 points per game last year ( 11th), but have fallen to just over 16 ( 13th) this year.
Their drop in attacking potency comes despite being tackled in the opposition’s 20metre zone more than any other team.
The Cowboys have long been a team reluctant to risk second phase play and after offloading less than anyone the team’s else in 2017, have fared better this year ( 15th).
Kicking has been a major area of concern all season, especially when they get to the business end of the field.
Second in the league for forcing drop outs last year, the Cowboys have crashed to 10th in that category.
They have conceded far too many seven- tackle sets, which has released the pressure valve on the opposition and put their defence under too much strain. little
The Cowboys’ defensive stats are relatively stable from season to season, but it wasn’t a major strength in 2017, either.
They are 13th for missed tackles, 14th in offloads conceded and have given away fewer penalties than anyone during the current refereeing crackdown that has dominated discussion.
They are conceding over 20 points per game, despite markedly improving the number of line breaks they’re leaking.