‘Be confident’: Payten backing Derby on NRL recall
Jasper Bruce |
North Queensland coach Todd Payten is urging confidence from Robert Derby as he recalls the rough diamond winger for a must-win NRL clash against St George Illawarra.
The Dragons and Cowboys are both already unlikely to make the finals this season but a loss in Friday night’s game would make it almost impossible.
Payten insisted the Cowboys were still targeting a top-eight berth.
“It hasn’t been spoken about but it’s still our intention. It starts tomorrow,” he said.
Derby had a tough night in his last NRL game but comes back at the expense of Jaxson Paulo with the season effectively on the line.
Against Canterbury a fortnight ago, Derby made three errors and found himself caught infield as debutant Jethro Rinakama scored what proved Canterbury’s game-winning try.
After the game, Payten said his team’s errors were causing him to lose sleep, and Derby has made the fourth-most of any player in the league this season.
But the coach has been working with Derby in his week out of the 17 and wants the 23-year-old to draw strength from the positive attacking moments he’s had this year.
“Be confident in that ability. We’re backing him, his teammates back him,” Payten said.
“We’ve spoken a couple of times about staying in the moment and concentration but we’ve also spoken about a couple of technical things and got some work done there around how he carries the ball.”
Payten was pleased to have Tom Duffy back from a quadriceps injury, feeling his inclusion is a more comfortable fit than continuing to play Jaxon Purdue in the halves.
“The short answer is yes,” Payten said.
Purdue impressed at centre to begin the season but the Cowboys won only one of seven games he has played in the halves after Payten began trying him in his position of choice.
The Cowboys had been forced to persist with the experiment for the past two weeks when Duffy and Jake Clifford each went down with quadriceps issues.
The pair are in a battle for contract extensions beyond this season, with Clifford expected to win out and re-sign at the Cowboys at the expense of fellow local product Duffy.
“Ideally we would (keep both Duffy and Clifford) but it’s not going to happen,” said Payten.
“Cliff is probably another week away (from injury).
“I think Jaxon in the centres allows us some more speed on the edges and Duff is clear and calm when he directs the team around which is an advantage for our team.”
AAP
