From liability to our leader Our leader
NRL’S WORST TACKLER HAS TRANSFORMED HIS DEFENCE
AFTER a horror season that ended with the most missed tackles of any NRL player, North Queensland fullback Scott Drinkwater has blossomed into the leader of one of rugby league’s most formidable defences.
Attack had never been the former Melbourne Storm ace’s problem.
Once rated by Billy Slater as more brilliant with the ball in hand than Ryan Papen
huyzen and Jahrome Hughes, Drinkwater’s awful tackling was the primary reason the 25-year-old was axed from the Cowboys’ line-up at the start of the season.
Drinkwater’s defensive shortcomings were directly responsible for 25 opposition tries in 2021, according to Fox Sports Lab.
His return to the team at fullback after four rounds has proven a masterstroke, and not just in attack.
With Drinkwater in charge of organising the Cowboys’ defensive line, the club has conceded 145 points in 11 games, the fewest of any team behind Penrith (104).
Since moving out of the defensive frontline, Drinkwater has missed the fewest tackles of any Cowboy to start 10 games or more (14), after missing a league-high 89 tackles a season ago.
The gunslinging fullback credited his astonishing defensive transformation to the one-on-one attention of assistant coach Dean Young. “Me and Dean sit down every week and talk about areas in the field where he wants me and talk about areas in the field where he wants me to be and who he wants me marking up against,” Drinkwater said.
“So far I’m pretty confident how I’m going.”
Not that there haven’t been bumps along the road.
The Cowboys conceded 25 points to the Warriors in Drinkwater’s first start.
Even mighty Penrith were held to 22 points when they faced the Cowboys.
Drinkwater’s organisation was shown up badly, with the Warriors able to create overlaps all over the field.
Drinkwater himself was caught in the headlights when Kodi Nikorima left him grasping at thin air in the first minute after halftime.
“I just took an easy dummy from Nikorima and yeah, I guess people probably thought straight back to pre
vious years but I didn’t,” Drinkwater said.
“I wasn’t too worried and I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job (since that game).”
Drinkwater’s defence will be put to the test again by a wily opposition playmaker in Brisbane’s Adam Reynolds and electric rookie Ezra Mam, playing off a platform set by Origin stars Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan.
“They went toe-to-toe with Melbourne for a half of football so I think they’re flying high at the moment,” Drinkwater said.
“Carrigan and Haas get them on a pretty good roll and they’ve got strike in the backs with (Kotoni) Staggs, (Selwyn) Cobbo and Te Maire (Martin at fullback) is playing some pretty good footy for them.
“We’ve just got to win the ruck first and don’t allow too many quick play-the-balls and allow Cobbo and Staggs to get a bit of early ball with a staggered defensive line.”
The Cowboys are third on the ladder and the Broncos fifth leading into the NRL’S blockbuster derby in Townsville on Saturday night.
Drinkwater said the form guide should be tossed out the window when the sides meet again.
“It’s the best game of the year for us Cowboys players, at home against the Broncos, it’s always a sellout,” he said.
“It’s a derby so it doesn’t matter where the teams are sitting, it’s always close.”