COWBOYS TEAM NEWS Hess must step it up to come in from the cold
DESPITE being able to return from suspension, Cowboys forward Coen Hess has been unable to force his way back into the team.
The form of young guns Tom Gilbert and Mitch Dunn is only part of the reason, with coach Josh Hannay saying the former Maroon’s output had contributed to his demotion.
Given Hess’ meteoric rise in the early stages of his career, which included State of Origin selection and a grand final appearance in his first full season, North Queensland coach Josh Hannay said he had been tagged with expectations he may not be ready to meet at this stage. The 24-year-old’s efforts have largely mirrored the Cowboys prospects in 2020. At times, he has looked ruthless and seemed to be getting back to the level which earned him representative selection.
However in other periods, he has failed to live up to the ability he presented which rewarded him with such accolades. Hannay lamented Hess’ performance against Cronulla, the game in which he was placed on report and ultimately sidelined with a grade one crusher tackle charge.
He left the field with just 38 running metres to his credit, as well as 21 tackles with three misses.
In contrast, rookie forward Gilbert — who until coming on the field largely played in the middle — returned with 107 metres, 32 tackles and just the one miss.
Hannay said he and Hess had shared some frank conversations about his form, and what he needed to do to get back into the side before the end of the year.
Much of that discussion involved his work off the ball, and that was something he needed to rediscover to establish himself as the player who became a two-year Origin sensation.
“Certainly I think a lot came Coen’s way earlier in his career, which may have created pressure to live up to that hype … maybe he was thrown into Origin before he really earned it,” Hannay said.
“Defensively he needs to be a lot better, he’s an experienced player now Coen and we expect better from him.
“I think it’s our responsibility as a program to help these young players improve, it’s not about them going away and fixing it themselves. He’s still really young, still has so much in front of him and he has such a high ceiling, so we have to make sure we’re working to ensure he fulfils his potential.”
Since Hannay has been in the Cowboys head coaching job, some of the club’s young players have turned out arguably their most impressive performances to date. Gilbert, 20, has been clinical in his past two efforts — running for a combined 242m and making 74 tackles for only two missed.
Halfback Jake Clifford was also on song against the Dragons, showing aggression in defence and a willingness to always be around the ball.
With incoming full-time coach, Todd Payten, yet to determine the make up of his 2021 support staff, Hannay is unsure where he stands.
While contracted to the club, and seemingly equipped with a strong rapport among the players, he is hopeful of continuing his coaching education in Townsville.
“There’s probably a bit of water to go under the bridge there, at the end of the day Todd will decide on what staff he wants,” Hannay said. “I have a contract here, whether I’m part of that staff I’m not sure, and if I’m not I’m happy to go elsewhere and continue to develop and grow as a coach.
“It’s really important for a head coach to have the right people around them, to help them do the best job they can do. That’s a really personal decision for Todd and we’ll have to wait and see what happens there.”
He was originally expected to miss four weeks.
However he said Morgan was touch and go on whether he would get back on the field this season.
It was a day of firsts for the Cowboys yesterday – able to finally announce an unchanged line-up for their clash with Melbourne Storm on Sunday.
Rising stars such as the