North Queensland Cowboys coach Todd Payten was full of praise for Scott Drinkwater and believes he can take his game to another level this season despite the side going down in a “clunky” performance.
Drinkwater’s selection with the ball and his short kick-off attempts helped keep the Cowboys in the game with Payten saying his fullback had shown “a lot of maturity” in the past 12 months since he cemented the spot over Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
“I think he is really confident in his own ability after the last 12 months, he’s shown a lot of maturity in this off-season just gone,” Payten said.
“He’s making smarting decisions with the ball and without the ball. He is getting our numbers sorted at the back really well and you’ve seen how quickly he thinks on his feet – the short dropout and grubber close to the tryline here…a really smart play. The double pump for a try. He is always involved in our good stuff.
“He is very important for us. What he has around him also helps him play well too.
“He’s got Chad (Townsend) to direct the team and be the real prominent voice.
"Then you’ve got Tommy Dearden on one side of the ruck who is a real running threat and he’s got his game in order, and Robbo at nine is a real threat. They complement each other which is what I like.”
Valentine Holmes, who was another of the better performers for the Cowboys, said he enjoyed seeing Drinkwater – who finished in the top five of the Dally M Medal count last year – blossom, but he was a player the kept the rest of his teammates on their toes.
“He’s had a really good pre-season, obviously last year as well he was on fire, so he’s brought that into pre-season this year as well and is training really well for us and I thought he played well tonight,” Holmes said.
“He does hit the ground running and you kind of have to expect anything outside him, so us outside the backs have got to expect a long ball, double pump, short ball or the kick or he might run himself, he has got it all, Drinky.”
One of the standout aspects of Drinkwater’s play during the Pre-Season Challenge match were his sneaky dropouts which were successful more often than not.
Holmes fires back
“He practises it, he practises a lot. He obviously always goes to our right, because Feldty [Kyle Feldt] and Miah [Jeremiah Nanai], so you can either go a bit long to the wing to Feldty or can pop it up just short there for Miah and Chaddy," Holmes said.
“That short one he did in the middle, he obviously didn't see anyone there so, that's what I was saying, he just plays off the cuff and it works, so none of us really knew what he was doing there, but it worked, so it was good.”
