Cowboy James Tamou to line up for Northern Pride in trial against PNG Hunters
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NORTHERN EXPOSURE: James Tamou will line up for the Pride
when they play the PNG Hunters at Barlow Park on Friday night. Picture:
Wesley Monts
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The hastily organised Intrust Super Cup trial yesterday received a monumental jolt, with confirmation the Cowboys enforcer will line up at
Barlow Park.
In what will be his first hit-out since off-season neck surgery, the 26-year-old Kangaroos prop has been named in a youthful Pride side to be captained by Jordan Biondi-Odo.
Travis Peeters will start beside Tamou, with fellow round 1 hopefuls Brent Oosen, PJ Webb and Keelan White also earning a golden chance to impress next to one of the game’s best big men.
“This is a perfect chance
for our boys to have a look
at how he plays his footy
and how he prepares for a game,” Pride coach Joe O’Callaghan said.
“Guys like Nathan Wales and Travis Peeters should watch the way he prepares and how he takes it to them out on the pitch.
“They would be crazy not to try and learn off him.
“Playing with a guy like Jimmy will be a buzz for the younger boys.”
In the unlikely event Tamou plays ISC this season, he has been allocated to Mackay.
Yet with
the Cutters
not having another match and Tamou craving fitness, the trial against the Hunters is looming as the perfect fit
for North Queensland’s
feeder club.
Cowboys under-20s player Bill Cullen has also been added to the Pride’s bench.
Innisfail's Biondi-Odo, to start at half-back, remains in the mix for round 1 and now has added responsibility on his shoulders.
“Jordie has been in our system for three years so
I feel like he’s ready for the challenge,” O’Callaghan said.
“It will be very interesting to see not just how he goes as the senior playmaker.
“But with that position comes the fact you’re in a senior leadership spot.”
Despite a last-start trial loss, O’Callaghan said he is confident in the pre-season workload his senior group has gone through.
Vaipuna Tia Kilifi is the only exception, the barnstorming backrower eager to get extra minutes under his belt before confronting Easts.
“This game is about helping a club in PNG that needs another run,” O’Callaghan said. “It will be great for the PNG population in Cairns to see their team.
“And this is a good chance for some of our younger boys to put their hands up.
“I still have two or three jumpers up for grabs for round 1 and this will be one of the most physical packs we will come across.
“This will be much closer to a full ISC trial.
“If they can perform at this level in a big game like this it will be a big statement.”
Source: Cairns Post
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