It’s time for the Cowboys to say “enough is enough” and hit the reset button, according to club legend Brent Tate.
But to do that the club’s brightest stars need to lead the way — and that could force coach Todd Payten into making a some big calls.
The Cowboys have nosedived in the past four seasons. They went from a grand final in 2017 to second last in 2018 - then finished 13th, 14th and back to 15th last year.
Tate, who played 67 of his 229-game career for the Cowboys, wants to see the current playing group put an end to the club’s horror run.
“There’s just got to be a real reset because the Cowboys have been really successful within the last eight years, but the last three or so years there has been a real dip — there’s no hiding from that.
“At some stage, this group have got to stick their hand up and say ‘enough is enough, we need to turn this around’.”
The Cowboys senior players must take the lead, but Tate believes the next tier down — the future stars — will be just as crucial in changing the club’s fortune.
“Definitely the senior players (need to step up), Jordan McLean, Jason Taumalolo and even Coen Hess,” Tate said.
“But I really think these younger guys coming through like Hammer and I think ‘Val’ Holmes has got a huge effect on the group if he can get back to some form, also Reuben (Cotter) — those sort of middle tier guys are probably going to have more of an influence on this group more than anyone.
“Obviously at every club, every senior player needs to play well, but that next level down, that’s where it’s won or lost.”
Here foxsports.com.au previews the Cowboys’ 2022 season ahead of trials against the Rabbitohs and Broncos. Their season kicks off against the Bulldogs on March 13.
Premiership-winning halfback Chad Townsend headlines the list of new recruits for the Cowboys this season.
Townsend inked the three-year deal in April last year and not long after he was dropped to reserve grade before the Sharks granted him an early release to join the Warriors for the remainder of the 2021 season.
The 31-year-old is reportedly earning around the $800,000 mark per season, making him one of the club’s top earners.
He’ll wear the No.7 jersey this season, but who partners him remains a mystery at this stage.
We know Tom Dearden and Scott Drinkwater are the two options Payten is looking at and won’t know who he’s leaning towards until the Cowboys’ get through their two trial games against the Rabbitohs and Broncos.
Tate believes both Dearden and Drinkwater will get a shot at some stage this season but said the Round 1 selection is a “real head ache” for Payten.
He sees a lot of potential in Drinkwater in particular but has urged the electric playmaker to eliminate the errors from his game and to soak up as much knowledge as possible from Townsend during pre-season.
“Drinky’s got all the ability in the world, he’s just got to learn to know when to pull the trigger and when not to,” he said.
“Also to have an understanding that you just can’t be making heaps of errors in games — it’s not OK to do that. That’s what loses games.
“He’s got all the ability in the world and could be a really quality No.6 if he wants to knuckle down and learn from Chad.”
Dearden has had big raps on him from a young age — but you get the sense the 20-year-old may have to continue biding his time.
“I think Tom Dearden is going to be a wonderful player,” Tate said.
“He’s always been a good junior, he’s really competitive and that’s enough for me to think that he’s going to make it.”
Valentine Holmes has previously said he sees himself as a fullback. He started last season on the wing before playing 15 games in the No.1 jersey and then one more on the wing. His final two games were played in the centres — which is set to be the star’s new home for 2022.
Holmes was trialled at right centre in those two games but after the arrival of Peta Hiku he’s made the switch to the left side.
The shift allows Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to run amok at fullback.
Tate — a former Maroons and Kangaroos centre — believes Holmes has the makings to be a real attacking threat for the Cowboys but it’ll come down to one thing: attitude.
“I do,” he said when asked if he liked the positional switches.
“I think ‘Hammer’s’ one of those players that’s just out of the box. You talk about freakish talents — he’s one of them. We’ve seen glimpses of what he can do and what he’s about.
“And I really like Val in the centres.
“I think Val’s got the tools to be able to make a real fist of it, it’s just going to be up to Val with his attitude and having an understanding of ‘you know what, I can actually become a real strike centre in the competition.’
“For me, he’s got the tools, it’s just going to come down to attitude… because in my opinion he could become a real strike centre in the comp.”
Payten’s plan for skipper Jason Taumalolo sure captured a lot of attention last season.
He revealed before Round 1 that Taumalolo was going to play less minutes in a bid to avoid the superstar lock from burning out.
Taumalolo inked a 10-year, $10 million deal in 2017 as a 23-year-old. It was one of the longest contracts to be signed in NRL history.
The now 28-year-old is heading into his fifth year of that contract — but is coming off arguably his most out of form season since signing that deal.
Taumalolo averaged over 60 minutes per game in previous seasons and despite having the motor to play the full 80 minutes, Payten made the controversial call to cut that down.
It was one of the biggest talking points at the start of the season and Taumalolo’s Round 1 performance certainly didn’t help.
The usual metre-eating beast played 51 minutes and only notched up 55 running metres — which ended up being his lowest for the season. He then broke his hand at training the following week and was sidelined until Round 8.
Payten experimented with Taumalolo at prop and second row late in the season before he returned to his usual position of lock for the final game.
“They were one of those sides that got caught out with a big forward pack,” rugby league great Laurie Daley said.
“They just didn’t adjust to the new style of game. It’s a quick game, you’ve got to have mobile forwards. You can still have the big forwards but they’ve got to be mobile.
“They experimented with Taumololo, they played him on an edge they played him through the middle, they played him for less minutes and he was a bit frustrated with that.
“I think to get the best out of Jason Taumalolo you’ve got to play him. And he was that type of player that, the longer the game went on, and the opposition started to get a bit fatigued, as well as you, he became stronger.
“I don’t think they got that value out of him last year because .. the game was starting to get to that fatigue period and all of a sudden Taumololo would be off the field and the opposition didn’t have to contend with him coming at them with such force, such ferocity ... he’s always hard to handle
“We didn’t see enough of that last year from him. I think he really enjoys the leadership role, he enjoys the responsibility.”
Last season was the first year since 2015 that Taumalolo didn’t claim the Paul Bowman medal as the Cowboys’ Player of the Year.
