Cowboys still on a roll
Bench proves great weapon in victory over Bulldogs in Bundaberg
THE goal of last week’s game against the Bulldogs was to back up our performance against the Dragons.
Against the Dragons we were defensively very good – we wanted to take that same attitude and intent into the game against the Bulldogs in Bundaberg.
We had made the call to fly into Bundaberg on the day of the game, something we don’t usually do.
Preparation was going to be a little different and we spoke about the importance of making sure we got our preparation right as an individual.
Flying in to Bundaberg the morning of the game for a 2pm game meant that we had to get up a little bit earlier and to also make sure that we got our food and hydration intake on point.
We arrived in Bundaberg, got on the bus and went straight to the ground. We had arrived a little early to the ground and the whole team was quite relaxed as we watched the curtain-raiser.
The weather was great and the sellout crowd was starting to pour in. Considering this wasn’t our home game, Cowboys fans turned out in their droves and it felt like it was a home game for us.
There was a significant breeze at the Bulldogs’ backs in the first half and we had started the game slow.
It took us a little while to find our groove in the game and it wasn’t until a Reece Robson short ball to Griffin Neame that we decided to really show up and play some Cowboys football.
We finished the back end of the first half with a lot of momentum and went into the half with a 10-all scoreline.
At halftime Todd (Payten, coach) spoke about getting back to our game and continuing to build on what we did at the back end of the half and that was to complete high, kick to corners and show some discipline on both sides of the ball. We did exactly that in the second half.
It wasn’t perfect by any means, but we played the style of football we have been known for in 2022 and that is to win the game early and score the points late.
We know if we can hold on to the ball and tire out the opposition we can come over the top and score some points later in the game.
I really want to highlight the amazing work from our bench this week.
Luciano Leilua was outstanding, running for 144m and looked dangerous with every touch, Reuben Cotter was at his damaging best and also Griffin Neame, who ran some great lines and is in try-scoring form, was great also.
For us to have such a strong bench means that when Todd is making his changes he knows that our bench can come on and lift the game and the energy and these guys have been doing this all season.
This week we look forward to coming up against the Roosters, who taught us a lesson earlier in the season.
We look forward to coming up against them again and there’s no doubt we are playing better football now than what we were earlier in the year when we last met.