North Queensland Cowboys coach makes STUNNING confession after his side was bundled out of the NRL finals by rampant Cronulla Sharks
- Todd Payten didn’t mince his words during the press conference
- Cowboys coach disappointed after defeat to Sharks
- Urged his team to evolve and become a force in the Premier League
North Queensland coach Todd Payten has bluntly stated his team must evolve collectively or they will remain a ‘mid-table’ NRL team.
It followed a 26-18 defeat to Cronulla on Friday night at Allianz Stadium, which ended the Cowboys’ season.
Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall made the difference, finishing with two tries as his team ultimately lost their final.
They will now play their first preliminary round final since 2018, where they will face Penrith.
Payten’s men showed resilience after trailing 24-0 at half-time, but ultimately fell short.
“That’s where we need to develop… I spoke to Reubes (Cotter) and he said the same thing… Otherwise we’re a mediocre team,” he said.
‘We do show something, but we have to bite the bullet a bit harder for longer periods during the difficult moments of the match.
“We have some talent, but you can’t just pick and choose when you’re doing the hard parts of the game.”
North Queensland coach Todd Payten has bluntly stated his team must evolve or they will remain a ‘mid-table’ NRL team
It followed a 26-18 defeat to Cronulla on Friday night at Allianz Stadium, which ended the Cowboys’ season (pictured is broken backrower Jeremiah Nanai)
Cowboys captain Rueben Cotter (pictured right) said after the game that his team “still has a lot to do” in the offseason
Cotter agreed with Payten’s scathing assessment during the press conference.
“As Todd said, you can’t just give away starts like that, especially in the big races, so we’ve got a lot to work on,” he said.
Payten loses a number of its most experienced players in the off-season, with Kyle Feldt leaving for Super League, Valentine Holmes joining St George Illawarra and Chad Townsend joining the Roosters.
Payten also refused to cite the drama surrounding the Cowboys’ travel schedules earlier this week as a reason for his team’s lackluster start against the Sharks.
With the help of the NRL, the Cowboys were forced to order a charter plane to Sydney after a shortage of commercial flights from Townsville.
“It’s not an excuse,” Payten said. “Mentally we were ready, but we put too much pressure on ourselves in the first half.”