Cowboys spine, Vegas scheduling and Daine Laurie: NRL pre-season challenge Week 2, Raiders vs Storm, Cowboys vs Panthers talking points

The Canberra Raiders and North Queensland Cowboys have run out resounding winners in Friday night's double-header of Week 2 in the NRL pre-season challenge. With so many fringe, reserve grade and jersey flegg players running around, it was tough to know exactly where to look or what to take out of either result, but there are still plenty of key talking points. Here they are. The Cowboys halves are set... But does Todd Payten know it? Given the Cowboys - at full strength it should be added - played against a Panthers team with only four Top 30 contracted players in it, it's hard to know exactly what to take out of the game. The weaker, albeit not totally understrength Cowboys, also played against a predomniantly reserve grade and Jersey Flegg Bulldogs outfit last week. Two victories for the Cowboys are one thing, but it does all come with a grain of salt. Still, you can only play what's in front of you, and the standout, almost unarguably, has been half Jake Clifford. His kicking game provides the Cowboys something they simply don't have, and his management of the team is solid too. It's little to no surprise that the Cowboys played their best footy in a poor 2025 season when the halves were Clifford and Tom Dearden. They must wear the six and seven, in whatever order, when the Cowboys line up against the Knights in Las Vegas. Jaxon Purdue is great, and has utility value, but at this stage of his career, centre is his position. The question really is whether Todd Payten understands that. To this point, the jury seems out on which way he will go. Daine Laurie will push for minutes in Canberra One of the quieter signings of the off-season was that of Daine Laurie leaving his role as a back-up at the Panthers across multiple positions, to likely perform the same task in Canberra. The thing with Daine Laurie though is that, at a lot of clubs in the competition, whether in the halves, outside backs or fullback, he is better than a reserve player. Laurie certainly won't be playing at fullback or five-eighth in Canberra given Kaeo Weekes and Ethan Strange are locked in, but there are real questions around Canberra's number seven jumper for the new season. He isn't a halfback by trade, and it looked like he was playing the role of a five-eighth more than a halfback on Friday in a win over the Storm, but the fact he was named there suggests he has been getting some reps during the pre-season. It indicates Ricky Stuart is, maybe rightly so, a little nervous with his options to replace Jamal Fogarty being Ethans Sanders or Coby Black. Regardless, Laurie's performance suggests he has fit in well at the green machine and will, at the very least, be part of the first six-man bench of the year. If we are going to Vegas, then those teams must play trials against each other The NRL are heading into the third year of the Las Vegas experiment, and there is talk other locations will be trialed in the coming seasons. The issue is that it creates discrepencies in where teams are up to in their pre-season. To have the Cowboys up 44-0 with their full strength side against a team of kids did nobody any favours on Friday evening. The Cowboys haven't had a proper hit out, and the Panthers kids will, while maybe better for the run, have some scars to take out of the game. It serves no one any favours though, and realistically, all that's going to happen is someone will get injured when the game is dead and buried. That's always a risk in pre-season, but when no one is getting anything out of it, the risk seems all the more silly. Jack Hetherington will be a good pick up for Melbourne Jack Hetherington has long been a player with potential unable to realise it, with on-field discipline, injuries and a lack of form at the struggling Knights holding him back. His move to Melbourne could unlock something though. While he had limited minutes against the Raiders, it was possible to see he looked as fit as maybe he ever has, and also seemed to be more locked in than ever before. Craig Bellamy has worked wonders with multiple players over the years, and just maybe it's time for him to do the same with Hetherington. Able to play in the middle or on the edge, the aggressive forward could add plenty to Melbourne if he manages to crack the 19-man squad. Toby Crosby could become Penrith's next star The Panthers have conducted something of a raid on the New Zealand Warriors pathways sytem during the off-season, signing Freddy Lussick, Tom Ale, Kalani Going and Tom Crosby. Crosby is the least well-known of the quartet, but he certainly has the most upside. A young prop who is still working out his body and skillset, he looked as if he has had an excellent off-season for Penrith on Friday in Mackay. Again, it was hard to assess in a game where they were well beaten, but he looked to be the Panther with the most potential to develop into something over the coming years. Michael Asomua will be Canberra's next in line on the wing A quick observation to finish, but Michael Asomua looks the goods. Built, and able to run the ball with plenty of power on his way to regular tackle breaks, he is a victim of Canberra's system to this point of his career. There is simply too much talent ahead of him. What is clear is that he has begun to iron out the remaining kinks in his game though, and understands how best to break tackles. He was a real threat on Friday against Melbourne, and should now be first in line to replace either Savelio Tamale or Xavier Savage, should it be needed. Realistically, he is up against recruit Sione Finau, but Asomua should have the edge.

		P	W	L	PTS	+/-
1	CBR	24	19	5	44	148
2	MEL	24	17	7	40	212
3	CAN	24	16	8	38	120
4	BRI	24	15	9	36	172
5	CRO	24	15	9	36	109
6	NZW	24	14	10	34	21
7	PEN	24	13	10	33	107
8	SYD	24	13	11	32	132

Cowboys spine, Vegas scheduling and Daine Laurie: NRL pre-season challenge Week 2, Raiders vs Storm, Cowboys vs Panthers talking points

A couple of spots may have been locked in for Round 1.

5. Toby Crosby could become Penrith's next star

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