NRL REVIEW: so sad to leave, A super star player announces his departure after due to his……
A frustrated Todd Payten was in a prickly mood following North Queensland’s defeat to Cronulla, clashing with a journalist in a tense press conference.
The Cowboys squandered a six-point lead to suffer a crushing 32-12 loss to the Sharks on Thursday night, jeopardizing their finals hopes in a disappointing season.
North Queensland sits outside the top eight with 28 points, while the Knights and Rabbitohs hold seventh and eighth positions with 29 and 28 points respectively, each with a game in hand.
When asked if his approach to training was ‘relaxed,’ Payten bristled.
“We hear the preparation this week was pretty relaxed, was that a mistake?” the journalist queried.
“Were you at training?” Payten retorted.
“I think I heard some pre-match conversations; Jason mentioned it was a more relaxed week,” the journalist responded.
“Our training sessions were short, sharp, and intense. Our group responds better when they are relaxed,” Payten explained. “If I’m constantly on edge, that energy transfers to the players, causing them to tighten up.
“There was no fooling around or hijinx, everyone was focused and got their job done. We were simply outplayed in the end. We put ourselves under pressure and faced a good team.”
Payten also praised Jeremiah Nanai, who played despite needing multiple painkilling injections to compete against the Sharks.
The backrower suffered a severe AC joint injury against Parramatta in Round 21 and was expected to miss this week’s game.
“It was pretty brave of the kid; he needed injections to train, before the game, and at halftime,” Payten said. “He makes us a better team, so he will be sore. He’s got eight days to recover before we play the Dolphins on Friday night.”
