Focused Taumalolo to lead in his style
JASON Taumalolo grew up under two of the strongest leaders the NRL has seen in Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott.
While he took plenty of lessons from the two legends over the past decade, the lock forward has declared he is bringing his own style to the Cowboys captaincy, a role he will share with Michael Morgan in 2021.
It will be a mix of high work rate and high fun, which Taumalolo believes will galvanise a Cowboys team desperate to turn around three poor seasons.
In a candid interview, the Tongan took responsibility for the club’s poor results — finishing 13th, 14th and 14th
since their 2017 grand final appearance — and suggested it was up to him to take a more team approach to his own game after coach Todd Payten made him a co-captain. There is a larrikin streak in the 117kg wrecking ball, one which he said won’t completely go away now he is captain but it might be turned down a notch.
“I would like to think if I am leading by example for these guys, then maybe we can be better as a team. We have struggled in the past three years with the way we have been playing,” Taumalolo said.
“Maybe if I can be a better teammate, help out a lot more, then maybe it will go a long way to changing the way we play and how the boys are
connected. I would like to think I have grown up a little bit but we will see how we go.
“I had a bit of a moment to myself (after being elected cocaptain) where I knew I had to change the way I behaved, especially at training around being a bit of a larrikin. I have toned that down a bit.
“I do find moments where it is a bit hard not to be a kid at training, I am having fun and the boys are having fun. It is about finding the right time to know when to work and when to have fun. If we are doing both, I would say I am doing my job.”
Taumalolo has never been afraid to lead by example on the field, consistently putting the Cowboys on his back and charging through the heart of opposition defences.
He has never shirked the tough work in the middle of the field, topping the club for metres gained, tackle breaks and post-contact metres.
But that does not mean he will go it alone in his captaincy.
Taumalolo admitted he would turn to the club’s senior playing group, which included Morgan, Josh Mcguire and Jordan Mclean for guidance when needed.
One man who is not surprised to see Taumalolo handed the captaincy is former teammate and Wests Tigers skipper James Tamou.
Tamou was at the Cowboys when a fresh-faced 17year-old Taumalolo made his debut for the club. The pair went on to win a premiership together in 2015, and the NRL veteran said leadership had always been etched in the Tongan’s future.
“Off the field I know that everyone looks up to him and he will lead the way, we know what he plays like. He has captaincy material in droves,” Tamou said.
“On the field he will produce and he has that aura about him. He has the humility about him. He doesn’t have to say much, he just goes to work.
“I remember when he was a young fella, and now he is about to play his 200th game. That goes to show how quick that time goes. We all knew this guy was something special and he has shown that throughout the NRL. He has a long way to go to make his mark on this game.”
HE may be about to feature in a new look spine, but Jaelen Feeney does not see any growing pains being inflicted this weekend.
The Blackhawks halfback will line up against the Mackay Cutters in the final trial clash before the Intrust Super Cup begins, in a far more experienced outfit to the one that lost to the Northern Pride last week.
With long-time hooker Josh Chudleigh and enigmatic fullback Carlin Anderson away for a wedding, NRL veterans Cameron King and Josh Hoffman will assume the roles.
Despite the different combinations, Feeney said it had taken little time for the quartet to jell at training — it felt like they had all been playing together for years.
“I didn’t know Kingy from a bar of soap apart from grade, but when he got here it was like we knew each other,” Feeney said.
“I can’t wait actually, it’s a different vibe to what we’ve had in the past. Hoffy is very experienced and brings a calm nature out the back whereas Carlin is pretty erratic and fast … we have the best of both worlds.
“I personally think he (Hoffman) should still be playing first grade the way the system is at the moment. “He’s played All Stars, 200 NRL games, so he’s got experience and we’re happy to have him but I won’t be surprised if he plays Cowboys.”
A host of experienced Blackhawks stars will return to the field, with Feeney joined by the likes of Hoffman, King, Kyle Laybutt and Sam Hoare for their first games since before the COVID-19 lockdown.
With the NRL introducing rules to enable clubs to draw on uncontracted ISC players from Round 10 onwards, the former Newcastle Knight is approaching every contest as a chance to press his claims for a return to the top level.
He will have to do so in a faster era of rugby league, courtesy of the new rules introduced, however he believes he has earnt the right to another shot.
“That’s probably been the biggest highlight of 2021, the rules shouldn’t have been changed in the first place – I think it was silly,” Feeney said.
“Since the start of football the opportunity for a reserve grade player to play first grade has been the stepping stone, so when they put that block in it didn’t make sense.
“It would be a dream of mine to get back in but I’m content with how my career has gone.”
RECONNECTING with their youth has become a pivotal focus for the Garbutt Magpies since re-entering the Townsville AFL, and an initiative is set to take that to greater heights.
After eight years of fundraising, the club has collaborated with Sunbus to help engage with Indigenous communities throughout the region, and ensure they are embraced.
Beginning from the end of their sign-on day this Sunday, a bus decorated in art depicting traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and song lines will visit schools such as Rasmussen
State School to take children to and from training with junior club the Garbutt Bombers and on game days each weekend.
The bus, as well as a new camping trailer, cost $29,000, with the proceeds coming from sponsors, the Stronger Communities program and the Smith Family Foundation.
Garbutt Bombers president and Magpies elder Randal Ross said the concept was about ensuring the youth and families in their communities were aware of the support out there for them.
He said by rekindling the link between the youngsters and elders, the hope was struggling families could be
rebuilt through their club and sport.
“There are many youth that are coming into the community, and also families who have grown up in the community, who still don’t know who’s a part of their community,” Ross said.
“That’s why it’s important we take our elders out to the community to meet our young people. It’s important to restrengthen that connection. When I grew up in Garbutt there were always elders involved and it’s important to involve our elders.
“There are many families out there struggling. We know many of our families are single mums, single households, and that’s why
it’s important for men such as myself to be role models for the next generation, and also our women.”
It will be a historic year for the club in 2021, with the senior men’s side to return to the Townsville competition for the first time in 33 years.
It follows the reintroduction of the women’s outfit last year after a four-decade hiatus.
It has been a collective approach to connecting communities throughout the region, regardless of age, with Sunbus also employing Indigenous officers on the bus to support the children.
Ross said by having the song lines on the bus, it painted a symbolic picture to those
who saw it that the elders were there to support them.
And he said sport — with the club taking on cricket and other codes in addition to Aussie rules — was an ideal tool to engage with their next generation.
“The legacy of Garbutt Magpies has been around since 1955, but Garbutt Magpies haven’t been involved for the last eight or nine years, that’s why it was important coming home to share our legacy with our young people today,” Ross said.
“It’s also to impart a special culture — we call it Karnympa, and it’s about holding children — and it’s about teaching how that practice still continues today.”