The North Queensland Cowboys slogged through an arduous pre-season, made some bold team calls, and have had to leave one of the game’s hottest young talents on the bench.
But right now, it’s all worth it. They jumped into the top four with a commanding win over Parramatta on Saturday night, with Billy Slater impressed by them on both sides of the ball.
“It’s amazing, and you’d be surprised when you get your attack right, how it energises your defence,” he told Wide World of Sports’ Billy’s Breakdown.
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“You’re turning the ball over in good field position and you’ve got a lot more energy to get off the line, do all the little things in defence that help you win games of football.
“They’re a serious team, the Cowboys. I think they showed on the weekend against the Parramatta Eels that they can defend like the best of them, but they can also blow you away with their strike weapons.”
Slater said fullback Scott Drinkwater was their most-creative player, and that it was a testament to how well they were playing that Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow wasn’t guaranteed a place in the starting lineup.
‘The Hammer’ came off the bench in the final stages and caused chaos against a tired Eels defence, scoring one try and being involved in another.
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But with Valentine Holmes and Peta Hiku holding down the centre spots, veteran Kyle Feldt on one side and Murray Taulagi on the other, the Queensland Origin rep may have to be content with a bench spot for now, despite his immense talent.
“The one thing that Todd Payten’s saying up there is that you’ve got to get on board the team things – and everyone’s giving themselves to the team,” Slater said.
“I think Hamiso will have to do that for a period of time until a vacancy in the outside backs comes up but wow, they’re playing well.”
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