‘Got what we deserved’: Payten’s honest assessment as Cowboys reckoning looms
Cowboys coach Todd Payten believes his side “got what we deserved” after their fifth-straight loss, slumping to 12th place on the ladder after going down to the Titans.
In Round 5, Des Hasler’s outfit couldn’t match it with the North Queensland side and lost 35-22, turning the tables on Sunday to win 20-18.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Payten made it clear the Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves after yet another loss.
“We got what we deserved to be fair. Gifted them two tries off kick defusals that weren’t executed, then a dummy-half barge over,” Payten said.
“Down 20-0 at half time, that put us on the back foot and in a hole. Showed some great fight and spirit in the second half and gave ourselves a chance to pinch it.
“But we also left four tries begging, dropped one short of the line, one with the line wide open and two knocked out of our hands over the line.
“We are sitting here on the back of five on the trot and I can’t say we have anyone else to blame today or over the last five weeks.
“But I know the only way to get out of it is work hard, keep our heads down and stay really tight as a group. We saw in that second half that the care and fight was there.
“That’s the message I gave to the team, it’s about sticking together and prioritising our profession.”
The Cowboys begun the season with a bang, beating the Dolphins, Knights, Dragons and Titans across the first five rounds.
However, Payten believes those victories were hollow and didn’t’ actually reflect how his team were performing.
“I think they were soft wins to be fair, I think they wallpapered some of our defensive stuff,” he said.
“Then we played the better teams and couldn’t get it done. Tackling in our yard needs to improve, last week our goal line defence wasn’t good enough.
“We showed some periods tonight where we can get it done, but defensively, our mindset around stopping tries needs to improve.”
Payten was also asked why his team were struggling, boasting several elite players. He responded by saying: “Games aren’t won on paper, that’s the difference”.
“It’s won on determination, attitude, resilience so we just are falling short in different areas at the moment.”
The Cowboys were unable to make the finals in 2023, having finished in third place after the regular season in 2022.
Payten was asked whether turning this current North Queensland side’s form around could be the toughest test of his career, having been an NRL coach since 2020.
“It’s up there, I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest. It’s just not going to click,” Payten said.
“What needs to happen is we need to fight and scrap our way to a victory, and that’s an 80-minute effort. Not just waiting for it to happen or expecting things to bounce back.
“It’s getting that first one out of the road and building off that.”