Jason Taumalolo has retired to the criticism of his decision to play the Queensland Cup for Mackay fifteen days ago, insisting that he called the benefit of himself and the team.
The 31 -year -old accessory underwent feet surgery in the low season and started late contact training. Taumalolo made his return from NRL in the 2-16 defeat Friday night against Brisbane, where he was the best made with 150 m of 14 races in a 46-minute exhibition.
The winner of the 2015 Premier League had lost the defeat by 36-12 of the previous week against Cronulla, where the cowboys were overcome, choosing instead play for Mackay in the competition of the state league.
The respected Rugby League analyst, Matthew Johns, wrote a column for News Corp questioning the decision in a great piece about the bad start of the cowboys season.
“I am the old school, but in my opinion, legends like Jason Taumalolo should not play degree of reservation,” Johns wrote.
“Caliber players and Taumalolo’s experience do not need to play lower degrees to demonstrate their physical condition and abilities.
“It would have served much better in the higher degree.
“Even if Taumalolo were able to play only 25 minutes against sharks, it is their presence and leadership that would have made the difference. However, it was a selfless decision that the cowboys say that Taumalolo was made last week.”
Taumalolo made clear on Wednesday that the call was his and not that of coach Todd Payten.
He had put his hand to play for Mackay in the Queensland Cup round, but the cyclonic climate washed the round.
The following week he told Payten that he wanted to return to the NRL through Mackay, where he had a period of 56 minutes.
“I made that decision to benefit me,” Taumalolo said.
“The last thing I wanted to do was enter a slightly low NRL game, fighting and being a responsibility for those around me.
“I made the decision. I know that there has been a lot about the decision I made, but it was completely in myself.”
Taumalolo said he did not regret his call and added that it would be better for the race for Mackay and Cowboys when Canberra visits Townsville on Saturday night.
“Playing the Queensland Cup before the game last week definitely helped,” he said.
“I thought about having more kilometers on my legs and starting, last week, although sometimes I was fighting, it wasn’t so bad. I’m going to enter this week much safer.”
Cowboys without victories must obtain their season with a victory over the Raiders. Any side in the NRL era has lost four games and won the prime minister.
The Cowboys joined an elite club when they lost their first three games of the 2015 season before winning the title, but they also had Johnathan Thurson on the team.
Only Newtown in 1933 has lost its first four games of a season and won the title in the history of the Premier League.
The cowboys improved against the Broncos. They started the game at the top, but failed to score the points before fading.
“There is a long season ahead, but there are many positive aspects that we can get from last week,” Taumalolo said.
“If we can start as we did and cover that for 80 minutes, it will contribute largely to improve.”
