Impotent attack a worry for Cowboys
WHILE much has been made of the Cowboys’ lack of effort in defence against the Tigers, at the other end of the field they weren’t much better.
In one of the most telling statistics from the weekend, the Cowboys were tackled inside the opposition 20m zone more times than any other team in the competition.
They had more close to the line opportunities than the Rabbitohs did in their 28-point trouncing of the Warriors on Friday night.
Of those 54 tackles inside the Tigers’ red zone, 34 came in the first half when the Cowboys scored no tries.
While their defensive effort lacked spirit, their attack lacked any flair. They struggled to break through a Tigers side that had given up 28 points to NRL cellar dwellers Gold Coast only a fortnight earlier.
It could be the most damning review of the struggles the Cowboys have scoring points without the potency of Valentine Holmes and Michael Morgan. The pressure is on Paul Green to turn the form slump around, and he will have little time to do so with a tough run of games against top eight sides.
Cowboys chairman Lewis Ramsay said the board would meet with the Cowboys coach and director of football Peter Parr later this week.
“We’ll talk to them about everything around the team’s performances,” Ramsay said. “We’re determined to try to arrest this current slump.
“There’s has been no discussion at board level around the coach. He’s contracted to us for another year and a half and there’s nothing at this stage to suggest we won’t be honouring that.”