Aaron Payne's injury last year was a disaster for the 2009 Cowboys and 2010 will be a lot similar unless they take the pressure off Jonathan Thurston. Matthew Bowen is already missing the first part of the season and as we know, it takes footballers at least 18 months to properly recover from knee surgery. E.g. Willie Tonga and Willie Mason.
How do they become more than a one man team? Here are a few things that might help....
Inspiration. The Cowboys need to be correctly motivated.
Support. Cowboys fans are a rare breed (as you can see) and need to get right behind their club.
Aside from the above suggestions, what they may already have on their side this year is the retirement of Shannon Hegarty. If you have a mate who is a Souths fan, ask him/her what they think of 'Hegs'. Souths supporters have never hated anyone more than they hated S. Hegarty from 2005 to 2008. So much so that they were resigned to losing if he was named in the starting line up.
Why?
From what I heard, it was something about his defence. He allegedly cost the bunnies a few games during his tenure at Redfern. One of the positives to come out of this insanity was when Hegarty signed with the Cowboys for 2009. The tipping competition I was in (traditionally a very spirited affair) suddenly had a few Souths fans at the top of the table. Reason? They were tipping against the Cowboys everytime Hegarty started and subsequently predicted the horror season that ensued in Townsville. Was he really that bad?
I say no - and Shannon, we bid you a fond farewell and hearty thanks for your years of service to the Greatest Game of All. Except the years you played for Souths and your appearances for QLD.
Moving on, the questions must be asked:
What will Shannon Hegarty do in retirement? The mind boggles.
Will Shannon Hegarty turn up coaching juniors in the near future? Stop talking about him!
Has Shannon Hegarty fever made me start yelling at myself on this blog? Make it stop!
Do Fox Sports executives think Shannon Hegarty is a future league analyst and if so, is he up to the standards set by Laurie Daley, Simon Woolford and the ever informative Gary Freeman? Maybe... but more importantly where is the sarcasm button on this damn keyboard?
Tip - The Cowboys find Shannon Hegarty irreplaceable and just miss the semi finals.
X Factor – Aaron Payne. Very simple - if he goes well, they win.
Premiership odds - $26.00. In all seriousness, if Carl Webb moves to the bench and the rest of their pack really aim up, they can give it a shake.
Breakout season - Ray Thompson. Played one game of 1st grade last year and could be the answer to their problems at five-eighth. Keep an eye out for him.
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