Mclean predicts teammates will make role ‘easy‘
COWBOYS coach Paul Green described Jordan Mclean as a reluctant leader.
But the captaincy tag will be next to his name tonight and one he is ready to embrace.
With regular skipper Michael Morgan expected to miss a month as he recovers from shoulder surgery, Mclean will lead the side against the Gold Coast Titans – fresh from taking up an option to remain with the club for the next two years.
While he is excited for this next challenge and chapter in his career, he said his role did not change too much when it came to performance.
“I’m really starting to love the place up here … at the club I can really see something building here,” Mclean said.
“The last couple of years probably haven’t been our best but over the next few years it will be something special.
“(As captain) you definitely want to go out there and not let the boys down … I’m pretty excited but I suppose nothing really changes for me.
“It’s the same job, I’ve got Jason (Taumalolo) and Moose (Josh Mcguire) there who are leaders of the team as well so it should be pretty easy for me.
“I still reckon I’ve got improvement to go, so I think we’re working to something really special up here.”
Given his historic feats in round two, Taumalolo will be a daunting figure and is likely to be attracting much of the attention when the Cowboys enter Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
Against the Bulldogs he charged to a new NRL high of 318 running metres to coincide with a try.
The likes of Laurie Daley have said he will become the game’s greatest ever forward – and maybe even the club’s best ever JT.
Any talk around the Tongan skipper, who will be vice-captain against the Titans, is music to Mclean’s ears.
Why? Because whenever his name appears he wreaks havoc on the field.
“I enjoy people coming out and saying comments about Jase because he turns out and performs when people talk about him,” Mclean said.
“Hopefully that’s a bit of fire for him … me and Moose will be by his side and doing our job as well.
“As in great players like Jase you can’t really take them out, you can only try and limit what they do.
“When people talk about Jase he always lifts up and plays a great game when people start questioning him.”