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Can the Cowboys bounce back?
A month ago most people had conceded that the Cronulla Sharks, Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys pretty much had this 2016 title race between them. They were easily the three most dominant teams in our competition and appeared to be a cut above the rest. All of a sudden, all three teams look to have hit a speed bump along the road towards the finals. For the Sharks and the Storm, this little period of indifferent form could have been predicted given how far ahead of the pack they were in the race towards the minor premiership.
Speed bump: Johnathan Thurston of the Cowboys. Photo: Getty Images
I would say both clubs have taken the opportunity available to them because they are so well placed on the premiership ladder to introduce a heavy phase of training to steal them for the semi-finals in a few weeks. This is normal practice. It can make them seem a little flat in the short term, in exchange for long-term benefits. I would anticipate them tapering their training load before the last premiership game so they are fresh and hard fit for the September play-offs. The Cowboys on the other hand needed to keep winning in order to achieve an all-important top four finish. It is alarming, therefore, just how lethargic they have looked over the past couple of weeks in their losses to the Wests Tigers and the Sydney Roosters. We have marvelled at how this team has remained injury free since almost the middle of last season. Perhaps the downside of this is that the same 17 or 18 players have been playing high-intensity rugby league every week since that time and are now starting to feel the effects. I guess we will know a lot more about their physical and mental state when they play host to the Warriors this weekend. Another mediocre showing will cast real doubts over their ability to defend their title.
Just a snippet from gus mecurio goulds article in the SMH.
Makes a good point about how both us and the storm have dropped off. He says its normal and is what happens to teams so far ahead of the pack.
This week and next we need to start to build back up to where we were
And we have seen Flanno rest various players with niggling injuries last year we did not have that luxury we needed to keep winning
