Morgan makes amends in sizzler against Sharks
MICHAEL Morgan is his own harshest critic, and the Cowboys five-eighth has shown he knows how to quell his own doubts.
Morgan was back to his powerful running best in the semi-final against the Sharks, scoring the first try in both halves, making three line breaks, six tackle busts and setting up for a try.
He was taken off after 66 minutes as a precaution but after the game was a different man to the one who was left disappointed with his performance in week one against the Broncos.
“I was just frustrated with a few parts of my game and a couple of moments within that game that I was really an- noyed about,” Morgan said.
“It was really good we had the chance to make up for it.
“I’m pretty harsh on myself after a bad game but I’m just glad I had the opportunity to make it up.”
Different players react in different ways, and Paul Green spoke to the State of Origin rookie to get him back on track and returning to the style of play which saw him become one of the best line breakers in the game.
“He just wanted me to go back and do my job and not change anything,” Morgan said.
“There were a couple of things last week that go another way and they come off and everything is all good.’’
Green said the mental side of the game was one of the most important parts of his job, as he got Morgan to move past his self-criticism.
Green said Morgan had responded well to that advice and should again be better going into next week’s preliminary showdown with the Storm.
“I think to play this game you have to be mentally pretty tough, there is nowhere to hide playing NRL,” Green said.
“Personally, he took a bit more on board than he should have last week.
“Like we said last week, you’ve got to dust yourself off and get ready for another game.
“He did that well as did a lot of other boys last week, as did a lot of the others.
“They brushed it off.”