Valentine Holmes, North Queensland Cowboys, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow

The North Queensland star is expected to be sidelined for at least a month with a grade three AC joint concern sustained in the final State of Origin clash on Wednesday night.

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Coach Todd Payten alluded to three options to assume the number one jersey against the Roosters, but said he had not locked in who would take those responsibilities.

Last week Daejarn Asi was named at the back, but was eventually swapped with regular five-eighth Scott Drinkwater.

The returning Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, fresh off a standout Queensland debut, could loom as another option.

Whoever stepped in to take Holmes’ place, Payten said it was a major blow to their finals aspirations and one they would need to cover quickly.

“When Val’s played well we’ve won our games. He’s a big important player for us,” he said.

“As it stands he’s going to miss some footy, he doesn’t require surgery (and) then it becomes a pain management thing. That (time out) is yet to be determined moving forward.

“On a personal note I know how disappointed Val is, he wants to do his part for the team and is unable to.

“Getting hurt in an Origin victory is not the way he wanted to finish a game, but his mindset at the moment is just about getting himself as fit as he can as quick as he can.

“If he needed surgery it’s a six month injury so it’s a real positive from our end, but again it’s tough for Val. There’s no doubt he’s going to have to play hurt, and it’s a tough thing to do in our game.”

Both Tabuai-Fidow and Francis Molo are set to back up at Queensland Country Bank Stadium today, and it is the lightning winger who Payten is most eager to see in action.

The 19-year-old flyer proved age was no barrier in the Origin arena, scoring a try and admirably defending Blues powerhouse Tom Trbojevic.

Payten said Tabuai-Fidow returned to Cowboys training “floating” with an air of confidence about him.

He said he was unsurprised the teenage sensation was able to thrive on rugby league’s biggest stage, the test now became how he brought what he gained back to club land.

“I’ve seen over the years players come back after good Origin series and it has a real positive effect on the way they approach their footy,” Payten said.

“It allows them to grow a little bit in confidence, Sometimes with Hamiso, I’ve said it before and I don’t know if he knows how good he could be. I think Wednesday night is a reminder to him.

“I think his character and personality allows him to play well in big games. I’m not surprised by the way he played and that he wasn’t overawed as a 19-year-old at all.”

The Cowboys clash with Sydney will kick off at 3pm.

Cowboys playmaker declares fans need to give Dearden time

Cowboys playmaker Scott Drinkwater has warned not to put excess pressure on the shoulders of new recruit Tom Dearden as he aims to find his feet in Townsville.

The young halfback has been viewed as a 10-year NRL prospect by some of the game’s best pundits, including Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston.

But after a rocky introduction to the big league at the Broncos, Dearden is now aiming to rediscover the natural ability that had him pegged as the sport’s next big thing.

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The 20-year-old has been solid since joining the Cowboys mid-season, but has struggled to take control of a side on the slide.

The pressure from the Cowboys faithful is mounting on the young halfback to deliver on his promise, but Drinkwater, who is expected to partner him in the halves, warned fans to give him time.

“He is getting better at being more dominant and louder, and he is getting confidence,” Drinkwater said.

“He is only 20 years old so don’t expect him to come in and have a massive impact straight away. Blokes won’t have an impact at Queensland Cup at 20.

“I don’t think I need to say too much to him, he is a smart footy player… He is finding his feet and I thought he kicked a lot better at the weekend (against South Sydney).

“It was tough to be in the spine with the way Souths defended (last weekend). There wasn’t much ruck speed for our halves to play off. It is not really a game you look at and review as a half and go what could I do better attacking wise.”

While he has asked for patience with his halfback, Drinkwater welcomed the mounting pressure on the Cowboys.

North Queensland have lost four straight and face the daunting task of taking on two of the game’s biggest powerhouses in the Roosters and Storm in consecutive weeks.

Drinkwater declared it has become a make or break period for the Cowboys and their chances of clawing their way back into the finals.

“I’m looking forward to playing in front of our fans who get behind us and cheer us on,” he said.

“We come up against a good Roosters team who stay in the game for 80 minutes. It is going to be a tough clash. We have two home games and then two away in either Brisbane or the Gold Coast. Two home games is going to be big for us.

“But it doesn’t get easy for us. We come up against two top teams of the competition. Home games is not going to make us win these games. It is playing for full 80 and competing and trying hard on the field.

“We definitely have to start winning some games. You could say it is make or break the next three or four weekends coming up.”

– Matthew Elkerton

WRIGHT RELISHES HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Cowboys forward Shane Wright does not believe he and his teammates will be disadvantaged for the next four weeks, despite being one of only two sides who will be required to travel by flight.

With the NRL relocating 12 teams out of New South Wales to Queensland’s southeast corner, North Queensland and the Melbourne Storm will be the only outfits positioned outside the southern bubble.

But Wright said if that was to be used as an excuse, it would be a thin argument.

The reality was, he said, that they still had the opportunity to remain in their hometown surrounded by loved ones and their home crowd, and that was something they needed to be grateful for.

“It’s just business as usual. We always have to travel anyway every year even without bubbles. We’re a well-travelled team, the positive is we’re staying in Queensland,” Wright said.

“Some of the older boys have families and partners. For me more so it doesn’t really bother me, but it is a bonus for us and that we get to play footy up here in Townsville.”

The Cowboys will face a stern challenge against the Roosters on Saturday night in their quest to halt the free fall their season has come to.

After a winless opening month of the 2021 campaign, North Queensland turned the tables to win six from eight games heading into their bye.

However since returning four more defeats have followed, culminating in their slide back out of the top eight as they reverted to the habits which have cruelled them for the past four seasons.

When the Cowboys last fought the powerhouse Sydney unit they demonstrated courage and grit which had largely evaded them in years gone by, despite going down 30-16.

Wright said aside from the fundamental errors which have cost them in recent times, what they needed to rediscover was the resolve they briefly found.

“It’s just getting back to becoming that gritty team and working for each other. We were in that game last time against the Roosters but we shot ourselves in the foot,” he said.

“All year I don’t think we’ve put a complete game together, so it’s about completing and competing and working for each other. It’s all about us this week.

“If we give them the opportunity they are going to throw it around, they have the players to do that. We have to be on our game to try and shut that down as much as possible.”

A 150th game in Cowboys colours for veteran hooker Jake Granville could serve as the extra motivation needed to rediscover their groove.

The premiership-winning rake has been one of the most popular members of the squad since joining the club in 2015, and his efforts of the bench have been recognised with a one-year contract extension.

Wright said while the milestone had not been touched on by the group as yet, with Granville never a man to toot his own horn, he said it was something they needed to celebrate and use as a catalyst to find something more on the field.

“He’s a popular member of our squad and a fan favourite up here so that will definitely give us a bit of motivation to get a win for him,” he said.

“You have to celebrate milestones, he’s a premiership player and a popular player of the squad so it could give us a bit of extra motivation.”

Feldt’s vow for Cowboys’ end of season charge

Even after the disappointment of his Queensland axing set in, Kyle Feldt admitted he did not feel hard done by to miss out on a third State of Origin appearance.

The Cowboys winger fulfilled a lifelong dream when he donned the Maroons jersey for Games I and II, however it was far from the introduction he envisioned.

A 50-6 thumping in Townsville was followed by a 26-0 drubbing in Brisbane, and his name was left off Paul Green’s team sheet in favour of Valentine Holmes and Xavier Coates.

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There was little opportunity for Feldt to announce himself on rugby league’s biggest stage, often restricted to making carries off his own try line under a mountain of New South Wales pressure.

But on the back of such comprehensive defeats, he said changes needed to be made. All he could do now was take away everything he could from the experience and help resurrect North Queensland’s floundering campaign.

“I don’t think I was hard done by, you have to make changes when you’re getting score lines like that put on you,” Feldt said.

“At the end of the day that’s footy, the only way I can move on is going back and playing good footy for the Cows.

“I take a lot of stuff away from the two weeks I had in camp. The way you go about your business is a lot more professional in there, you have to be on.

“It’s only one game, so you have to be on your game straight away and any little mishaps you get found out. That’s something I want to take back to club level as well and really work on that.”

On the back of four consecutive losses, Feldt said the leadership group in the Cowboys ranks — including himself — needed to take greater accountability.

Having turned the tables on a dismal start to be on the brink of a drought-breaking finals appearance, North Queensland have slumped into old habits as their season threatens to escape them.

The 29-year-old flyer put his hand up for contributing to those misgivings, lamenting his rushed play the balls which he believes have caused more harm than good.

His trademark strength with the ball in hand has remained, averaging 140 running metres and six tackle busts a game since the losing streak began.

However as a premiership winner within the squad, he called on he and his fellow senior players to set the standard if they were to end a four-year hiatus from September football.

“We haven’t’ been going too well in the last month, so it’s falling on a lot of us more experienced boys to really put our hands up and try dig the team out of this little slump we’re in,” Feldt said.

“I’ve been trying to get a quick play the ball for the team which is something I don’t need to rush. Nine times out of 10 they’re going to be half quick, so I just need to take my time and really relax when it comes down to the crunch.

“Wingers these days aren’t stuck out there, you’re in there doing the nitty gritty and that’s’ something your big boys really want from you.

“That’s something I’m happy to do. You don’t want to be stuck there on the flank, you want to be getting the team forward from the start.”

Payten declares season is on the line

With one comment, Cowboys coach Todd Payten made an emphatic statement to his team about where their 2021 destiny was headed.

“Our season is there for the taking,” he said. “We either front up and show what we’ve got and play the best we can, otherwise it’s nearly goodbye.”

Ever since the bye, North Queensland have been a shadow of the team who rectified a miserable introduction to 2021.

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Six wins from eight performances prior to the week off has been followed by four consecutive defeats, twice squandering early leads and forfeiting any momentum they had salvaged.

Plenty of the attention has gone in the direction of new halfback Tom Dearden, with the youngster exposed to a heap of defensive traffic.

Being tasked with steering the side out of the doldrums is going to be far from easy for a 20-year-old still adjusting to the NRL, but Payten has seen enough to suggest he is settling into his rhythm.

He said the courage Dearden showed from week to week would inevitably pilot him towards success, and if he continued to apply that same resolve the performances would follow.

“It was a challenge for him coming into a new squad. He’s had a difficult time at his old club and he’s come up here a little bit wounded in some ways,” Payten said.

“He’s putting himself in a game with the way he competes and that’s what I like about him. If he continues to compete the way he competes we’ll be able to put the polish on his game.

“He was involved in two tries on the weekend, he saved a couple of tries just by working back with the ball and he’s just in the game by the way he competes.

“He’s certainly more vocal in our field sessions. We’ve asked him and the players around him have asked him and they want to be led.

“He’s taken that on, it’s another step forward and we will get there.”

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The Cowboys will be one of only four teams able to remain on home turf for at least the next month, following the relocation of the remaining outfits to southeast Queensland.

In light of the COVID-19 situation in New South Wales, a mass change to the competition has ensued which players will need to adapt to quickly.

Payten has been better prepared than most to deal with the COVID-19 NRL bubble restrictions the squads will be subject to after his time with the Warriors last season.

The North Queensland coach — who has named Valentine Holmes, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Francis Molo to back up after Maroons duties against the Roosters — said there were plenty of positives the environment could give team if they responded the right way.

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“It can be a challenge there’s no doubt about it, but it can also be a real positive for the group,” Payten said.

“Considering they’re in a camp environment for at least a month they’ll spend a lot of time together and it can pull a group tighter together.

“I just thought over time I got to know them as people as much as I got to know them as rugby league players.

“That just allowed me to work out which way to massage my message to certain individuals and they got to see me for who I was I guess.”

COWBOYS TEAM VS ROOSTERS

1. Valentine Holmes, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 4. Connelly Lemuelu, 5. Murray Taulagi, 6. Scott Drinkwater, 7. Tom Dearden, 8. Francis Molo, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Jordan McLean, 11. Shane Wright, 12. Mitch Dunn, 13. Jason Taumalolo (c), 14. Jake Granville, 15. Tom Gilbert, 16. Coen Hess, 17. Peter Hola, 18. Lachlan Burr, 19. Javid Bowen, 20. Ben Condon, 21. Daejarn Asi, 22. Kane Bradley

nick.wright@news.com.au