COWBOYS CRUSH THE TITANS
THE Cowboys are again the kings of Queensland after disposing of the Titans to prove they are genuine NRL finals contenders in 2022.
David Fifita’s move to centre backfired spectacularly as North Queensland continued its hot start to the season with a 30-4 win against the Gold Coast at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
After a drought-breaking finals appearance last year, the Titans’ rebuild is quickly unravelling, with daunting games against the Panthers and Roosters to follow a sloppy 2-5 start to the season.
But it’s a different story in Townsville for the Cowboys in coach Todd Payten’s second season in charge. They are the most improved team in the NRL this season and have the ingredients to be a finals force, having last qualified for the play-offs in their 2017 fairytale grand final charge.
With the Broncos and Titans battling, the Cowboys are improving every week and on track to be Queensland’s only finals team this year following four consecutive bottom four finishes.
“I’m really happy,” Payten said. “We showed a lot of character. We kept a really potent attacking team to four points.
“I’m loving the commitment the team are showing to each other. That’s why we’re sitting here smiling.”
While the Titans are going backwards at a rate of knots, Payten’s Cowboys are the NRL’s team on the rise. They have experienced campaigners in great form like Jason Taumalolo, Chad Townsend and Valentine Holmes to go with some of the NRL’s hottest young talent.
Boom backrowers Jeremiah Nanai, who scored his seventh try of the season, and Heilum Luki, who iced the win in the 72nd minute, destroyed the Titans.
But it’s not North Queensland’s attacking spark that is the most impressive aspect of the 2022 Cowboys.
If defence wins premierships then the Cowboys are on track to contend for a title in the near future.
They went into this round as the second-best defensive unit in the competition, behind premiers Penrith, conceding an average of 15 points per game and improved that record.
The same couldn’t be said about the Titans who are leaking an average of 23 points a week.
COACH’S $1 MILLION MISTAKE
What was Titans coach Justin Holbrook thinking playing Fifita out of position at centre?
Holbrook made a risky decision to switch Fifita and it backfired big time as the Cowboys exposed his lack of defensive experience in the challenging position.
Holmes wrong-footed Fifita early and he was completely bamboozled by Scott Drinkwater from a slick scrum play. Holbrook forked out more than $1m-a-season on Fifita because he believed he was the best young backrower in the game and it made little sense to move him following his two best games of the season.
“We had to do it for injury, but I also wanted to test it,” Holbrook said.
“We’ve got to try things when we’re not winning games. He had a limited preparation and it was a mixed bag obviously.
“We’re not winning games so we’ve got to come up with what we think is right. We thought it was right but it clearly wasn’t.’’
After a one-game finals cameo last year, the Titans are clearly in trouble and their season could be on life support if they don’t pick up at least one win in the next fortnight.