Bold opening: The Cowboys’ attack has let them down, and the pressure is rising fast on their coach.
Gorden Tallis has unleashed on the North Queensland Cowboys, blasting their offensiveshowing as they were upset by the Newcastle Knights in Las Vegas.
Coming into the season under heavy scrutiny after missing expectations for years, the Cowboys could hardly have faced a tougher start.
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Round 1
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Not only did they allow five tries to last year’s wooden spoon recipients, but they could only manage three themselves and were thoroughly outplayed.
“I think they’ll be happy with their defensive effort and structure, and they did get exposed a bit (but) I thought their attack was really poor at times,” Tallis told NRL 360.
“It looked clunky. Even when they went wide, they weren’t on the right routes.
“It’s like they’ve worked hard on defense and I’d say they were better there. They didn’t play square; they went sideways. They didn’t earn the right to go sideways.”
Tallis critiques Cowboys attack | 02:50
Respected journalist Michael Carayannis agreed with the veteran forward’s assessment. He noted that high-profile stars such as five-eighth Tom Dearden and fullback Scott Drinkwater were largely invisible during the clash.
Dearden finished with a single try assist and 69 running metres, while Drinkwater totaled 52 running metres.
“I think they looked poor coming into a season where the coach is under real pressure, and that showed in the opening game. It was their big-name players who let them down,” Carayannis added.
“Drinkwater, Dearden, Reuben Cotter—barely sighted. The standout matchup was Jaxon Purdue versus Dane Gagai, which I thought was outstanding.”
Braith Anasta joined the conversation, hinting the team may need to rethink their halves combination in the weeks ahead.
“There’s still inconsistency around Jake Clifford, too,” he said.
“He produced a nice kick and a clever play, but he had several errors and chose the wrong option at crucial moments.”
Carayannis observed that the game’s start and the start of the second half exposed early momentum issues. While players like Griffin Neame, Murray Taulagi, and Jason Taumalolo showed flashes, the team overall failed to click.
Now attention shifts to Round 2 as head coach Todd Payten fights to hold his job.
“I’d be worried if I were a Cowboys fan. Your coach is under pressure, you need to win games, and to turn up like that won’t cut it,” Brent Read commented.
“I think Payten was uneasy about this season even before it began, and he’s got a big task ahead,” Anasta added.
Would you agree with the critics, or do you think the Cowboys can rebound quickly? Share your thoughts in the comments.
