Young half is hitting straps
COWBOYS young gun Tom Dearden finally threw the monkey off the back.
But not content with just throwing it off the back, he stomped it into the Browne Park turf at Rockhampton with an individual performance that ranks up there with the best at the club in the past four years.
It’s a weight lifted from the shoulders of the young halfback, who has been buried under a pile of expectation since he was thrown into the NRL deep end at the Broncos as an 18-year-old ballplayer.
The losing streak as a starting halfback had stretched beyond 23 games between two clubs and across two seasons.
But Dearden refused to give up, with Cowboys coach Todd Payten regularly praising his intensity and commitment at training. The 20-year-old was finally rewarded for that sacrifice, and he knew how important that break through against the Dragons was as he stares down a one-on-one duel with Maroons incumbent Daly Cherry-evans in Townsville this weekend.
“(It was) not really an emotional release, but it felt like a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders to get the first win (as a starting halfback) in a couple of years,” Dearden said.
“(The streak) has never played on my mind at all. Obviously my record is not very pretty and it has been a while since I had won a game. I know I was doing a lot of the things right on the field and the coaching staff were happy with how I was competing. That is what I just wanted to keep focusing on.
“I knew if I just kept at that and added a little polish to my game, the results would start to turn eventually.
“I was on the cowbell (for the team song). I hadn’t had a win in a while, so the boys got me on the cowbell.
“It was awesome to be part of that group and win our first game in a while.”
While an off-season battle between himself, Scott Drinkwater and Sharks premiership winner Chad Townsend looms, Dearden said his sole focus was ending a bitter season on the right note for the Cowboys faithful.
The one-on-one battle against Cherry-evans, a fellow Mackay born halfback who has conquered the big time, will be an exciting prospect in the clash against the Sea Eagles. For Dearden it is a chance to go up against one of his idols growing up.
But if he can replicate his performance against the Dragons, and steer the Cowboys to an unlikely win, it is also a chance for Dearden to stamp his claim on starting in the number seven jersey.
“I always have a bit of a battle against your opposite number or opposite position. Daly Cherry-evans is someone I look up to, and aspire to achieve similar things to what he has achieved. It will be awesome to come up against him this weekend,” he said.
“I think it is the last game of the season and we are up here in front of our home fans. There is a lot of motivation there to go out and put in a really good performance.”