North Queensland’s premiership hopes have suffered a crucial blow with star recruit Ben Barba being sacked less than two months before the 2019 NRL season.
A fullback headache plagued the Cowboys’ 2018 campaign as they recycled through four different names in the No.1 jumper, unable to settle down on a single candidate due to injury and form issues.
Barba’s signature was supposedly a short-term fix before the eventual arrival of Valentine Holmes in 2020, who stunned both North Queensland and Cronulla with an NFL bombshell.
MORE: Ben Barba forces Laurie Daley to eat his words after character reference
Club legend Johnathan Thurston recognised their dilemma in the back-field and saw Holmes’ signing as the solution: ‘’He’s a footballer who knows how to find the try line, that’s probably what we lacked last year.
‘’We were making half breaks but didn’t have enough speed on the edges to really capitalise on those, so hopefully we can get a deal done with him and no doubt we’ll welcome him with open arms.”
Plan A has been put on hold. Plan B has failed miserably.
Where do the Cowboys go from here?
Scroll down to see the impact Barba’s axing has on their spine.
MICHAEL MORGAN
Morgan lines up as the most fitting candidate to take over Barba’s role, given his history at fullback for the Cowboys. However, the absence of Thurston leaves a shortage of experience in the front line that was expected to be left in his hands. The Queenslander was thrown into fullback before the Origin period and looked likely to finish off the year there before a bicep injury ended his season. It may be Paul Green’s most trustworthy option after the indecisive coach couldn’t make his mind up. Before Barba’s sacking, Morgan was tipped to partner Te Maire Martin in the halves.
TE MAIRE MARTIN
Martin tallied up three different positions on his résumé in 2018, filling in at five-eighth, fullback and utility. Towards the back end of the year, Martin saw mixed results in his five appearances in the No.1 jersey and his cameo ended after an ankle injury in round 23. He used the 2018 off-season to mould himself into a full-time fullback, however he was forced to play five-eighth to cover Michael Morgan in rounds one and two, before finding himself on the bench as Ben Hampton found his rhythm in the role. The former Panther’s leadership duties could be tested if Green picks Morgan’s name out of the hat, taking young Clifford under his wing in the halves. The pair are yet to form a combination, but the stars are aligning for them to spend the season side-by-side. In December, Green declared Martin had his nose in front of Clifford to carry on Thurston’s legacy: "He is training really well, Te Maire. It is a big year for him. Last time we had JT not playing through injury he did a really good job.’’
BEN HAMPTON
In a year full of disappointment, Hampton was the surprise package for the Cowboys as he managed more games in the starting side than off the bench. He was used to plug a gap at fullback in the early rounds but his form warranted further selection, seeing out the duties until round five when he was pushed to the centre to cover Kane Linnett’s pectoral injury as Javid Bowen was dropped to reserve grade. When given another chance, Hampton scored four tries in his final two appearances at fullback to make a convincing argument to Green. Don’t rule him out.
JAKE CLIFFORD
Green has a high opinion of Clifford but his comments in the pre-season suggest Martin is his top pick in the halves. His first grade chances rest on whether Morgan will shift to fullback. If so, the 21-year-old will be partnering Martin. The only way Clifford does not play NRL next season is if Hampton wins the race for fullback. Clifford spent six games as an understudy to Thurston last year and showed promising signs during the club’s late charge.
