New Cowboys coach Todd Payten has unloaded again, this time branding his team "scared" during their loss to the Dragons.
Having given a blunt critique of superstar forward Jason Taumalolo after a Round One loss to Penrith, Payten went again after losing 25-18 at home to St George Illawarra on Saturday night, making clear his policy of brutal honesty.
"Disappointing. I thought we did our very best to throw the game away at different points," Payten said.
"Every time we gained some momentum, we made a pretty basic error which shifted momentum we, drop our heads and we haven't got the resilience to fight our way out of that at the moment.
"In saying that, I still thought we had plenty of ball at the end of the game to win the game. I'm unsure whether we are a little confused, a little scared to go after the game, or too fatigued. I'll have a look at the video and give some feedback tomorrow.
"I thought we were in good space with 10 minutes to go, we put plenty of pressure on their line. I thought we were rolling down the field pretty well and put enough pressure on through their middle but we just lacked that punch and we weren't clean. I don't think we were all on the same page.
"For the most part, I think we are a little bit scared to go after it at the moment."
It was a much better performance from the Dragons after their opening loss to the Sharks. The Cowboys were without Taumalolo, who has a broken hand; yet barring a bright start, Payten was still far from happy.
"I've got to give them credit," Payten said.
"I thought we started fast and I thought we went after the game in that part of it. I thought our line speed and hit and drive was really good at times.
"But again, just the basic errors when we have the running of play, is really detrimental to our headspace and winning games.
"We've got to to take responsibility across the board … as a whole club, this is where we're at.
"Our inside-40 errors led to tries. We either stop making the errors, or then if we do, we've got to show more resilience and defend our line better.
"That's the difference between the good teams and the not-so-good teams. They have got the ability to hold teams out for 12, 13, 14 tackles before they even start to wobble.
"I thought we showed a better showing last week but tonight it was some poor old habits."
The Cowboys host the Titans next Sunday, with Gold Coast coming off a strong win over Brisbane.
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