There were question marks hanging over their credentials just a few weeks ago, but after winning one of the most evenly-contested and enthralling qualifying finals of recent times, Cowboys coach Todd Payten believes his side can go on and win the competition in 2022.
“I was always convinced we could win (the premiership), and I know the players believe it,” Payten said after the game.
“We still have work to do and we still need time to rest and recover over this little period, but we are fortunate to be going home, in front of our home crowd, to play in a prelim to get in a grand final.
“We deserve to be there.”
The Cowboys have been a revelation in 2022. Widely tipped to miss the finals by a long margin, they began the year paying $101 odds for a title. But they’ve never compromised and have struck a perfect balance between youth and experience to set the competition alight.
“When we get our attacking game right, we play a bit different than most other teams and I’ve always felt we’ve shown some character around the way we compete.
“The message we’ve been trying to sell as coaches for well over 12 months became self-fulfilling in the early part of the season.
“The players believe they can win it and they’re the most important ones. I can tell them they have plenty of character and plenty of talent, but they have to believe it.
“We’ve proven (our mental toughness) time and time again. This win is another example of that.”
The Cowboys will now head back to Townsville with a week off to recover and fine-tune their strategy. They’ll face the winner of next week’s elimination semi-final between the Eels
