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Message: [QUOTE="McHunt, post: 3301476, member: 9853"] [I][B]Tom Dearden[/B] has lost 21 consecutive matches as a starting halfback; six since moving to the Cowboys. His last victory was May 25, 2019, playing for Brisbane against the Warriors. He's looking forward to another loss this Friday night. [/I] [B] [I][B]Greg Alexander [/B]said:[/I][/B] “I believe the ability is in there somewhere with Tom, it just has to be unlocked. There’s no doubt his confidence has taken a knock from all those losses. The fact he hasn’t won a game for so long affects your self-belief and losing can become a habit. It would be hard on Tom to be going through all those losses and that has to be taken into account assessing him as a young playmaker." "I always look at a young halfback and see what his involvement is apart from the set-pieces that most teams do. I look to see if any young halves have any intuition and whether they can get over the advantage line and attack a retreating defence. I’m yet to see that from Tom. At the moment, it’s all about process and being in the right spot and him passing to the right person, but I’d love to see him play some footy.” “It’s hard to get a definitive read on Tom. Having played in a side where Brisbane struggled and he was in and out, he has gone to the Cowboys and their form has slipped while he has been there. Unfortunately, North Queensland’s dip has co-incided with Tom’s move there, but it’s got nothing to do with Tom. I feel for Tom to a degree, he’s gone from a struggling side at the Broncos to a Cowboys side that has also forgotten how to win." "In terms of Tom and his long-term future in the NRL, I am a bit unsure about him. He looks like a decent runner when he finds himself a bit of space, but there are parts of his game that need continual work." "The Broncos and Cowboys have been looking for a playmaker to take control when the game is in the balance. You want your halfback on the ball and that’s a huge part of a halfback’s game. Ability as a young player and being an Australian Schoolboy or a Queensland under-20s player ... it doesn’t always equate to being a successful NRL player. We have seen a lot of blokes who have been schoolboy stars but just couldn’t graduate to the NRL, so that’s the challenge for Tom Dearden.” [I]Broncos development chief[/I][B][I] Simon Scanlan [/I][/B][I]who raised Tom as a puppy:[/I] “I only have good things to say about Tom. I saw him come through our system and he is the ultimate competitor. He is just a ferocious competitor and, as a halfback, he brings back-rowers and centres into the game well. He is a lovely kid who has an excellent training attitude. Tommy played NRL very early as an 18-year-old and he’s had some tough losses, but I’d love to see him kick on.” [I][B]Scott Drinkwater:[/B][/I] “I believe he can make it in the NRL long-term, 100 per cent. He came into the NRL as an 18-year-old and that was a huge ask. If I came into the NRL at 18, I don’t think I’d be playing in the league anymore." “Tom has been good for us. He is a really competitive guy, each week he runs the most kilometres out of anyone in our team, so that shows how much work he does off the ball. People are saying he hasn’t won a game but he’s still only 20, we can’t expect Tom to light the world up every week. There’s only a few individuals that can come into the NRL as an 18 or 19-year-old kid and kill it.” McHunt [/QUOTE]

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