A quick check at the NRL ladder makes it all look quite familiar.
The typical suspects are well down the list. Melbourne and Penrith are like two prize fighters battling it out at the top, while there’s a log jam in the middle with desperate clubs crippled by inconsistent play.
The North Queensland Cowboys are ranked third after that.
All of a sudden, everything you believed to be true about the wooden spoon and the club it could or might not be intended for is false. And as you start to question whether the Cowboys’ comeback was always imminent, all of your preseason projections are turned upside down.
Whatever sport you watch most carefully, every fan has heard the famous saying “defense wins premierships.”
Numerous historical examples can be found to support this. In the English Premier League, for instance, Jose Mourinho took the cliché to its utmost when he led Chelsea to victory in 2004–05; for the entire season, they gave up just 15 goals.
Nearer home, Jonathan Thurston emphasized the need of preserving a robust defensive line if a side aspires to be a genuine contender in the NRL.
Thurston stated, “The top two defensive teams in the competition have participated in the grand final over the last ten to fifteen years.”
“So, we explained how we were going to train to the players and we told them why we were going to do it. And if you looked at our defensive record, that was a part of the reason.”
Nine games into this year, and the Cowboys have improved their defence exponentially. They have let in 113 points, whereas the Storm and Panthers have conceded 110.
After statistically being the worst defensive side in the competition last season, they are now ranked as the third-best.
“[In the pre-season] we did a lot of contact, we did a lot of tackling and we just made them do things that they didn’t want to do, day after day. At the moment, it’s showing that it worked,” Payten said.
Indeed, according to Fox Sports Lab, the Cowboys have missed 241 tackles this season, which is the third-fewest amongst all clubs.
Thus, we gave the players an explanation of our training methodology as well as our rationale. And that contributed to the cause, if you looked at our defensive record.
After nine games this season, the Cowboys defense has significantly improved. While the Storm and Panthers have given up 110 points, they have allowed in 113.
They are now rated as the third-best defensive team in the league, having finished the previous season with the worst defensive record.
“We made them do things they didn’t want to do, day after day, during the preseason. We made a lot of contact and tackles.” It appears to be working right now, according to Payten.
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