Have the Cowboys become complacent? Matty Johns critical of 'considerably worse' NRL heavyweights

Liam O'Loughlin

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Have the Cowboys become complacent? Matty Johns critical of 'considerably worse' NRL heavyweights image

North Queensland were one of the premiership favourites before a ball was kicked in 2023 - but have the exciting squad bought into their own hype?

After scraping by with a victory in the opening round against Canberra, the Cowboys have now lost two-straight games and looked a shadow of their best football against the Warriors on Saturday evening.

In a game they were expected to win in front of their home fans in Townsville, the side missed 33 tackles and made 12 errors, leading to plenty of question marks over their title credentials.

Todd Payten pointed out a 'lack of trust' defensively within the Cowboys playing group during his post-game press conference and after just three weeks, there are now doubts over their top-eight hopes.

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League great and analyst Matty Johns pointed out some key areas that North Queensland have been struggling with early in their campaign and questioned their defensive resolve.

“The Cowboys have got some real problems as far as attitude is concerned,” he said on SEN Radio. 

“I would say 75 per cent of their energy is exerted on attack, they’ve got little focus on defence. All the most important areas to win a football game, they’re considerably worse than last year.

“They trust their attacking brands too much...I see this sometimes with South Sydney, they go into games, and they’ve got a swagger about them that says, ‘If you score 22 points, we’re sweet, we’ll score 26’. 

“That is how the Cowboys are playing, frivolous passing, no thought for ball retention. They just believe they can win the game on the back of attacking class. They could easily be 0-3.

“The area that would worry Todd Payten the most is that they start well and then as the game goes on and gets into the arm wrestle, the other side gets ascendancy.”

While as a whole the Cowboys have looked below their best this year, there are also some issues surrounding some of their big-name forwards. 

Jeremiah Nanai has been especially quiet so far in 2023, while the likes of Jason Taumalolo and Coen Hess didn't provide the punch required to topple the Warriors pack in the shock defeat. 

Cowboys forwards 2022 vs 2023

NOTE: Stats highlighted in bold show individuals areas of decline in 2023. 

PLAYER 2022 2023
Jason Taumalolo
  • 156 metres p.g
  • 3.2 tackle breaks p.g
  • 65 post-contact metres p.g
  • 0.9 offloads p.g
  • 24 tackles p.g
  • 171 metres p.g
  • 4.67 tackle breaks p.g
  • 59 post-contact metres p.g
  • 0.33 offloads p.g
  • 21 tackles p.g
Jeremiah Nanai
  • 99 metres p.g
  • 3.5 tackle breaks p.g
  • 0.72 offloads p.g
  • 31 tackles p.g
  • 39 metres p.g
  • 1.3 tackle breaks p.g
  • 0.67 offloads p.g
  • 12.3 tackles p.g
Coen Hess
  • 70 metres p.g
  • 0.6 offloads p.g
  • 22.8 tackles p.g
  • 68 metres p.g
  • 1 offload p.g
  • 24.7 tackles p.g
Reuben Cotter
  • 124 metres p.g
  • 2.2 tackle breaks p.g
  • 39 tackles p.g
  • 133 metres p.g
  • 0.6 tackle breaks p.g
  • 39 tackles p.g
Jordan McLean
  • 113 metres p.g
  • 23 tackles p.g
  • 115 metres p.g
  • 31 tackles p.g
Griffin Neame
  • 76 metres p.g
  • 16 tackles p.g
  • 85 metres p.g
  • 22 tackles p.g
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown
  • 72 metres p.g
  • 20 tackles p.g
  • 47 metres p.g
  • 22 tackles p.g

Have the Cowboys bought into their own hype? 

In the latest edition of The Fair Dinkum Department, we discuss North Queensland's recent run of form

For the full chat on the Cowboys, CLICK HERE. 

Who do the Cowboys play this weekend?

North Queensland will take on the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday, March 25th at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville. 

The game will kick off at 4.30pm local time and 5.30pm AEDT. 

Liam O'Loughlin

Liam O'Loughlin Photo

Liam has been with The Sporting News since 2019, helping lead both NRL and cricket content, as well as delving into the world of combat sports and NFL. A true rugby league tragic, he has spent the past 20 years playing, coaching and volunteering for his beloved junior club, Penshurst RSL. 

Away from work, Liam has a lifelong passion for all things pro wrestling and has travelled abroad to attend showcase events for WWE, AEW and NJPW.