COWBOYS PLAN TO HIT AND RUN
NORTH Queensland will be on a hit-and-run mission to Gosford tomorrow.
It will be a mammoth day of travel for the Cowboys. The team will fly out of Townsville at 11am and land in Newcastle before an hour-long bus ride to Central Coast Stadium.
They will have a few hours at the stadium before clashing with the Warriors, then get back on the bus and fly back to Townsville.
It will be a 15-hour day, but according to the experienced Gavin Cooper, the mission remains the same.
“We are going down to do a job and get on the plane and come back home,” he said.
“It will be challenging but Sydney teams do have to fly up here through the season. It will be a challenge but there is no excuses from us.”
Cooper said there would be plenty of admiration and respect for their opponents tomorrow, but it did not change the Cowboys’ desire to collect the two points.
Paul Green’s men have an opportunity to entrench themselves in the NRL top eight.
Cooper said the Cowboys would be wary of a scorned Warriors, who struggled to back up a spirited firstup win following the COVID-19 break in a tough loss to Penrith last weekend. The Warriors’ players have left their families behind in New Zealand to keep the NRL competition alive by basing themselves on the NSW Central Coast until border restrictions ease.
“What they have done, and people throw the word ‘sacrifice’ around; what they have done to move away from their families, it is a ... massive commitment to keep the competition running,” Cooper said.
“Hats do have to go off to them and their families back home.
“It is not ideal, but it is what it is and they are making the most of it.
“I think they had a lot of energy put into their first game back – that is why they played the way they did.
“They didn’t back it up on the weekend, but I am sure there will be a bit of soul searching and video this week.”
Cooper was a late inclusion to the starting side on his return from a calf strain last week, but will return to the bench with Coen Hess coming back into the starting side after an ankle problem. Mitchell Dunn has also recovered after failing a head injury assessment midway through the first half in the loss to the Sharks.
Cowboys wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo is also a chance of being a late inclusion.
The clash will be broadcast live on Fox League and streamed through Kayo tomorrow at 6pm.