A lot can change in a year.
Last September the Cowboys were three weeks into their off-season break and there were question marks over Todd Payten’s future.
Now, they’re one win away from a grand final and Payten is in the mix for Coach of the Year.
The incredible turnaround has taken ex-players, pundits and probably even the most rusted on Cowboys fan by surprise.
And star centre Valentine Holmes has conceded to foxsports.com.au the rise was a little unexpected internally too.
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Coming into this season, the Cowboys, like every team, aimed to play finals footy. But given where they finished 2021, they were also mindful of keeping their expectations realistic.
It wasn’t until eight players were selected for State of Origin that internally — and externally for that matter — those original expectations changed.
Asked if the team had exceeded his own expectations this season, Holmes admitted: “Yeah, definitely.”
“I’ll be honest and say that as with all teams, your goal is to make at least the top eight, which ours was,” he added.
“We wanted to make finals and we knew we had the team to do it, especially bringing in Chad Townsend, Peta Hiku and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown.”
“But I guess throughout our first six to 10 rounds we started to see how we were going and then through the middle when we found out how many guys were making Origin I think that’s when we really knew we had a good, tough and tenacious team.
“That’s when we started to really crack that top four and wanted to stay there.
“Everyone can say ‘we always think we’d make top four’ but really to come off last year you wouldn’t think you would go from being 15th to the top four.
“No one would ever really expect that and that’s what everyone was saying at the start of the year — they were pretty much saying we’d finish in the bottom four again.
“So it’s good to prove a lot of people wrong… and even ourselves I guess.”
It’s come off the back of a gruelling pre-season that was designed to push players to their limits and set a new standard within the squad.
Payten admitted earlier this year that he needed to “toughen our guys up physically and mentally” so “threw some curve balls” at them like early morning sessions and sprints up Castle Hill.
There was also an “honest” conversation among an “embarrassed” playing group, which according to Holmes, sparked a new mindset during pre-season.
How could they let a proud club that worked so hard to win its maiden premiership in 2015 come crashing down to four consecutive bottom four finishes?
Everything that Johnathan Thurston, Michael Morgan and Matt Scott among others had built in Townsville was just a mere memory… Until those hard truths were delivered at Cowboys headquarters over the summer.
“We were all embarrassed with how the past couple of years went to be honest,” a candid Holmes said.
“Considering how well the Cowboys used to go back when ‘JT’, ‘Morgo’ and Matt Scott were playing — they were always in the top four for years — we just wanted to get back to that stature.
“We needed to be honest with ourselves on how we were performing and I think that’s what we did well in the pre-season.”
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At the forefront of the Cowboys’ turnaround has been the no-nonsense coach, who knew the only way back up the ladder was some good, old-fashioned hard work — no matter who you were.
“We pretty much got treated like we were all in our first year (during pre-season). Our coaches didn’t care who we were or what pay packet you were on — we were all getting treated the same,” Holmes said.
“I feel like that’s just the way you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to treat everyone the same because we’re all training together and it’s all one goal which is to win.
“I felt like we always had that mentality and that’s what brought the best out of us.”
Payten has never been one to play games. He’s a sharpshooter and his post-game press conferences have become must-watches because of his honest assessments of his team. This season there’s been a lot to like, but last season was a different story.
He famously called out skipper Jason Taumalolo for “cutting corners” in games. It sparked rumours of tension between the pair and with the Cowboys languishing near the bottom of the ladder Payten’s tough-love approach was questioned.
He later conceded he could have handled that situation better.
But Holmes believes Payten’s honesty is exactly what the playing group needs — it’s just up to individuals to understand it’s only to help them.
“I guess if you don’t know Todd he definitely looks like he doesn’t give much away but talking to him as a coach he’s very approachable, which is what you want,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of young players and they find it pretty easy to go up to him and talk to him about their game, what they need to work on and Todd is the same.
“He’s very honest with everyone, he tries to lay it to you in a nicer way but he’ll be honest with you about whether you played a good game or whether you had a shocker.
“It’s always what you need, you just got to be able to take it positively that he’s just trying to help you. They’re not just trying to put us down, so we just have to think of it was positive reinforcement and I think he’s done a really good job with that.”
And for what it’s worth there’s no bad blood between Payten and Taumalolo. The star lock put those rumours to bed once and for all recently saying: “The belief Toddy had in me… I’ve known (Payten) for a very long time, I knew where he was (coming from).”
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The Cowboys will go into Friday’s sudden-death clash with the Eels as favourites.
Jeremiah Nanai was named in the RLPA’s Dream Team this week, while Holmes, Tom Dearden and Reece Robson earned nominations for their respective positions.
They’ve gone from leaking the most points in the competition one season, to being the second best defensive team the next.
It’s a story that should inspire this year’s bottom for teams, because after all, a lot can change in a year.
