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Sterling said he was "intrigued" by Payten's post-match comments regarding his star forward, where he spoke frankly about the long-term future of a player with seven years to go on his contract.<\/p>\n
Payten mused that if Taumalolo continued to play massive minutes each week<\/a>, it was doubtful he would be as valuable in a couple of years. He then highlighted a lack of effort from his star lock at marker in defence which led to a Panthers try.<\/p>\n "To be singled out solely after a first-round loss … it'll be interesting to see the reaction – but I think Taumalolo will cop it on the chin," Sterling said.<\/p>\n "When we think of Jason Taumalolo we think effort, 200 odd metres every week … to say that because of all that effort and the amount of minutes that he plays that he takes shortcuts when he's coming back into the defensive line and he didn't want his young forwards to see that as being the standard.<\/p>\n "I haven't heard anything like that before."<\/p>\n While Taumalolo has been used mostly as a battering ram in the middle of the field in recent times, Sterling said that was a waste.<\/p>\n "He should have been accommodated in his game a lot more than we've seen now," he said.<\/p>\n "He's most dangerous when he takes the pass one off the play the ball on the right-hand side, and he steps right back into that hole – and he'll carry three or four defenders.<\/p>\n "Don't make him do the grunt work. Don't send him up from a tap restart or something like that."<\/p>\n Sterling said it fell to the rest of the Cowboys forwards to lift around Taumalolo.<\/p>\n "I haven't seen enough over the years of other players looking to promote him into a hole, or to help his game out. Coen [Hess]'s game hasn't improved since he was first selected for Origin," Sterling said, calling out both Hess and Josh McGuire for poor defence which led to a try.<\/p>\n MORE NRL NEWS:<\/strong> Shark cops warning over 'inappropriate' interview<\/a><\/p>\n "I don't see them playing finals football."<\/p>\n Despite the blunt assessment of North Queensland's chances in September he said that he was excited that a ball-playing forward was now coaching.<\/p>\n "[He] understands that there's more to Jason Taumalolo's game than we've seen."<\/p>\n![\"NRL](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/03\/348158\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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