The signing of new halves combination Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden for the North Queensland Cowboys have been met with divided opinion amongst fans and pundits.
Following the shock retirement of club captain Michael Morgan last month, many were expecting North Queensland to reveal South Sydney half Adam Reynolds as the heir replacement, but instead Todd Payten delivered the one-two-punch of Townsend and Brisbane protégé Dearden following Reynolds' decision to stay in Sydney.
Townsend, 30, will join the club at season's end following 183 top-flight-appearances for Cronulla which have spanned 11 seasons.
With the playmaking position currently the most heavily contested amongst clubs in the open market, the Cronulla half is a good get for a struggling North Queensland outfit.
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An upgrade on the existing Cowboys crop of halves, Townsend is a game controlling halfback who brings premiership winning experience to a battling club.
At a fraction of the price the club were willing to pay for Reynolds whilst also being a cheaper and better option as opposed to other halves target Luke Brooks.
The Cowboys have a young squad and they need a veteran playmaker who can lead them around the park and Townsend is the right man for the job. The 2019 Monty Porter medallist has proven he can run a game plan, execute a kicking game and will help develop whichever young five-eighth the Townsville-based club throws him in with.
After seven games to start the season, Townsend currently sits second for try assists (11), second for average kick metres (447) and equal seventh for line break assists (5).
However, the signing of Tom Dearden - although low-risk - is baffling. With Scott Drinkwater unsigned for next season, the current Cowboys five-eighth is currently trumping the young Bronco in every statistical category.
In try assists Drinkwater leads Dearden with five try assists to none, four line-break assists to none and six offloads to none.
There’s also been an argument that Dearden and Townsend are too similar of players to gel as a halves combination.
Speaking to Nine Wide World of Sports, Rugby League immortal Andrew Johns claimed that he doesn’t see the two thriving together.
“When you talk about halves combinations, there's got to be the yin and the yang. And the best example of that is Nathan Cleary and (Jarome) Luai," he said.
“You've got Nathan, who is prepared and the game manager and plays the percentages, and then you've got the other hand: the extroverted risk-taker who just plays and doesn't think and is just a ball of energy - and that's why they go good together. So, you need that alter ego and that yin and yang. I think they're too similar players.”
"So, for me it's Townsend and Drinkwater."
The 20-year-old joins the club next season on no more than $370,000 a season, so should he not work out, is not on starting half money so the Cowboys could return to market.
But it asks the question, why wasn’t that cashed used to help coaching staff retain the services of Drinkwater?
The versatile 23-year-old joined the club midway through the 2019 season via the Melbourne Storm and has been a shining light for the club during a dour period over the last three years.
In 33 first grade-appearances for the Cowboys, Drinkwater has recorded 54 tackle breaks, 26 try assists, 21 line-break assists, 20 offloads, 8 line-breaks and six tries.
Does the club still have plans to re-sign Drinkwater? Does Dearden signing on for the sort of money he did show that he’s willing to bide his time and possibly play 14? Hopefully we get answers to these questions from Payten in the coming months as the jigsaw pieces continue to come together.
Amusingly, it is swings and roundabouts between these two Queensland based clubs at the centre of the Dearden trade, as it was originally the Cowboys who lost Scott Prince to the Broncos in the late 90’s when they were a struggling club and now all these years later it’s the Broncos losing their up and coming half due to their organisation being in turmoil.
Full circle.
