NANAI REPAYS PAYTEN’S FAITH
Cairns teen star at the centre of coaching masterstroke after stirring second half in the Cowboys’ come-from-behind win in Canberra
THE Cowboys’ come-from-behind victory over the Raiders was a triumph not just for North Queensland but the underrated man management of Todd Payten.
The first half served up by the Cowboys was as poor as any in the Payten era, as they stared down a demoralising defeat in the Canberra cold.
Cairns teen Jeremiah Nanai might have been the worst player on the field in a rough first half: two hit-ups for 13 metres, three missed tackles and a damning four penalties conceded.
“He was the one player I was concerned about at halftime,” Payten said.
“Everyone else was engaged and he was just inside his own head a little bit.”
Payten backed the youngster and his faith was rewarded in the 69th minute when the 19-year-old burst on to a Scott Drinkwater grubber kick for the matchwinner, sealing an 18-point turnaround in one half of football.
“I tried to be positive with him individually (at halftime),” Payten said.
“Then I asked Chad (Townsend) and Peta Hiku, who defend on either side of him, to try and draw him back into the game just with some positive talk. At different times he looked really tired and he’s going to have some ups and downs as a kid, but I thought he played tough in that second half and did some really classy things.”
Payten’s pre-season campaign of building mental resilience by throwing “curveballs” at his squad paid dividends beyond just Nanai. His side committed nine penalties in the first half but tightened up to concede just one in the second.
That is a credit to the character these Cowboys have built. Townsend said it was a display of North Queensland’s DNA.
“I just think our character shined through. To be 12 points down, the hard work we put in this pre-season shone through tonight.”
Payten added: “We’ve worked hard on that over the pre-season. “We tried to put them under as much mental pressure as physical pressure this off-season.”
It was the fourth six-day turnaround in six competition weeks, with nine days now to prepare for the Titans at home.