SCOTT READY
AFTER an injury interrupted 2018, Cowboys veteran Matt Scott is looking forward to hitting the ground running this season.
Over the neck issues which saw the 252-gamer miss a chunk of games in 2018, Scott said he was refreshed and feeling fit after what he described as the “longest pre-season” in recent memory.
“The new head of performance (Michael Dobbin) has changed things up a bit. We’ve done a lot of running and we had a few disruptions in between,” Scott said.
“There’s been a bit of everything this year with the heatwaves, floods, dust storms, we nearly had a cyclone down the Sunshine Coast, but it’s (pre-season) been really good.
“I had a disrupted year last year with neck injury; I’d just like to get a full year under my belt hopefully.”
Stepping away from the co-captaincy role he held with Johnathan Thurston for the past five seasons as the Michael Morgan era begins, Scott said he’d be there for support in an unofficial role.
While unsure of what his ongoing role on-field would be, the prop said he saw a lot of potential in the forward pack, particularly after the addition of Josh Mcguire from the Broncos.
“With Josh Mcguire coming into pack, we’re going to have a bit of a different rotation, I’m not sure on my role, I might be starting or coming off the bench, but the (approach) is same as normal for me,” Scott said.
“He’s (Mcguire) really embraced the North Queensland lifestyle and fits in really well with the boys.
“It’s a good family lifestyle up here, we’ve got a really good culture at the club and he’s embraced that and he’ll add to that, I think.
“I’m really interested to see his input on the field, I think he’s exactly what we need; a mobile, aggressive middle forward and I think he’ll add a lot to our pack.”
After focusing strongly on defence during the preseason to arrest a run of leaked tries through the middle of the ground in 2018, Scott said he saw big things ahead for the Cowboys’ new era.
“We’ve trained really well this pre-season, but things can go diffently once you get into games,” Scott said.
“The potential is there. It’s a really good young squad; one of the best I’ve seen come through.
“It’s a really good mix, so we’ll just wait and see.”