Experienced North Queensland Toyota Cowboys centre Kane Linnett has lauded the return of teammates Jake Granville and Lachlan Coote as the team prepare for a Thursday game in Sydney for the second time in a fortnight.
Searching for back-to-back NRL wins after last week’s impressive defeat of the Bulldogs, the Cowboys face the Sharks knowing they’ll need more of the same if they're to down the reigning premiers.
And the presence of fullback Coote and hooker Granville could go a long way to achieving that, Linnett reckons, with the duo ready for their second game back after injury-induced stints on the sidelines.
“Cootey’s talk and experience out the back was great last weekend, while with Jake controlling the ruck, we played flat and fast in attack, so it was massive having those boys back,” Linnett said.
The powerful centre said the team got a good boost out of the Bulldogs victory, with a lift in "urgency and energy" evident during the 30-14 victory.
“It was definitely good for morale and defensively we were a lot better than we’ve been, especially in that second half,” he said.
“We defended our line for a long time there.”
The Cowboys travelled to Sydney a day earlier than usual for a mini-camp to finetune their preparation for Thursday’s match, with kick-off at 7.50pm at Southern Cross Group Stadium.
