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Message: [QUOTE="BroncsFan, post: 3690501, member: 9052"] I think Clifford is who will start the year at 7... I just can't see Payten walking away from the monster boot that Clifford has. He possesses a long kicking game, but can also send it up there with his torp bombs... that can flip the field position in an instant and means you should rarely lose the territory battle, which is vital in modern league. Neither Dearden or Drinkwater have a long kicking game, but they will need to carry the load in terms of creating points. Drinkwater's defence was putrid at times last year, but I think what was most concerning was his defence of kicks in behind within the 20m. If a fullback is identified as not defending grubbers on the goal line then it is a beacon to opposition coaches for easy points. The issue for cows is that Drinkwater is the focal point of their attack, so they can't really drop him if he isn't turning up in defence... but they can't hide him anywhere either. Dearden is all heart and all effort, but could he be as effective if Drinkwater was suddenly not there and he was the obvious focal point of the attack? It will be interesting to see where Dearden gets to over the next few years. He's basically the senior half now that Chad is gone and his partner is either Clifford or a rookie, but with Clifford he's not the main kicker. He's also getting the profile from his rep duties, but Drinkwater is the main man when it comes to their attack. Can he be effective enough as the second string in the attack whilst not having the influence of game management that the main kicker does. Robson will be gone in 2026, but pressure might start building on him from here on out to be the man for cows... I'm not yet sure if he can do it, but maybe 2025 will be the awakening of Dearden as the main attacking point for his team. If he does then he suddenly becomes the Qld five eight for the next decade, but at the moment he's still got to get past Munster. In terms of strike power... their centres look a bit underwhelming now that Val is gone... I've seen chatter from Cows fans previously about Murray being a centre.. it might be something they look at, but he's such a great finisher on the wing. If Laybutt returns well enough from his ACL I can see him getting the spot there... I think Laybutt was left edge? if so that's the strike edge for Cows... Murray, Laybutt, Dearden and Luki is some serious strike with Drinkwater sweeping around the back. I agree with you that Neame is probably the key man in that prop rotation... Lolo is getting less and less minutes under Payten and McLean is getting year to year contracts... Hess brings aggression, but it doesn't always translate to actual impact, which leaves the rest of the guys as undersized workhorses. Neame was really underwhelming to me last year... he looked like he was becoming a Flegler type prop in 2022/23, but was so so far below that in 2024... with where Lolo and McLean are at they need him to step up and be the impact prop to take over. I think cows make the 8, but it could be an interesting year that may open their premiership window if Dearden becomes a top 5 half in the comp... if he doesn't then it could become a bit of a reassessment and rebuild to find the pieces needed to compliment him whilst being able to manage the tries Drinkwater lets in. [/QUOTE]

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