Flying under the radar
COWBOYS assistant coach Josh Hannay believes Daniel Russell’s “tough country boy” ethos will help him grab his NRL chance, adamant he will thrive now he’s been given the sustained shot that’s eluded him.
Hannay mentored the 23year- old centre in his final two years as coach of Souths Logan Magpies and is confident his work ethic will help him move up the pecking order with several outside backs spots up for grabs.
He may not have the profile of superstar signings like Ben Barba and Nene Macdonald, but Hannay knows the 190cm, 102kg product will leave no stone unturned in his two- year deal.
“He’s one of those kids who will be so grateful to get that opportunity and will do everything he can to be the best version of himself,” Hannay said.
“From our point of view, that’s what you want in your young players. He bounced around in the twenties at the Broncos and played out of position ( on the wing) for most of his time there.
“For mine he’s more a centre or back- rower, he’s tall and rangy and runs good lines on the edge.
“He’s one of those kids who wasn’t a superstar in the twenties, but it’s taken playing in the Intrust Super Cup against men for him to show what he’s really capable of.
“Part of my role here is to keep an eye on state level and sometimes I’ve gone to Greeny ( Cowboys coach Paul Green) on who I think is going well. The club had a closer look at Dan and were impressed with what they saw.
“There’s certainly enough there to warrant a contract and see what he can do in a fulltime system.”
Aside from Macdonald and Barba, the Cowboys look set to rely on youth to replace departed servants like Kane Linnett, Antonio Winterstein and Lachlan Coote in the backs.
Centre Kurt Wiltshire, who represented the Queensland under- 20s this year, has earned a spot in the 2019 fulltime squad, while centre Enari Tuala and winger Murray Taulagi represented the Junior Kangaroos last year.
Throw in flyer Gideon Gela- Mosby, who has scored six tries in eight NRL games, and competition will be fierce.
“For lack of a better term there’s a changing of the guard with some great servants of the club moving on and certainly there’ll be competition for those ( outside back) positions,” Hannay said.
“Some of those new faces coming in, ( Tom) Opacic is another one, there’s a chance for these young guys to put a great preseason in the bank and you never know where they’ll be in the pecking order come round one.
“Dan’s been a bit injury disrupted, he had a bad ankle injury last year when he was on the cusp of making the Queensland Residents side, but he came back and had a really good season this year.”
Hannay said while Russell had the attributes to one day move into the back row, centre looms as his spot in the short term.
“He’s a tough kid from the country and just wants to play footy,” Hannay said.
FOR MINE HE’S MORE A CENTRE OR BACK- ROWER, HE’S TALL AND RANGY AND RUNS GOOD LINES ON THE EDGE JOSH HANNAY