In the gun: Can Drinkwater help set the Cowboys apart?

With a must-win again this week against the Gold Coast Titans, Andrew McCullough has put North Queensland’s Scott Drinkwater in the gun.

Having incurred losses to the Knights and Tigers in their first two matches, the pressure surrounding the Cowboys and coach Todd Payten has only increased.

One of the players who has come under fire has been Drinkwater.

Despite assisting two of North Queensland’s three tries in last week’s loss to the Tigers, the 309-game NRL player believes that the 28-year-old needs to be more involved on both sides of the ball to elevate his side’s capabilities.

“I know there's a group of 16 others within that team, but as a focal point within their attack at fullback Scotty Drinkwater,” McCullough told SENQ Breakfast.

“He needs to get involved more to help Tommy Dearden with ball in hand.

“Because defensively and against Adam Doueihi too on the weekend was quite alarming, just to be there and assume they have him.

“Rather than you see the fullbacks in and involved, they're plugging holes defensively, then they're going out the back to take care of grubber kicks.

“Look, as much as you want to say it, he's one of the leaders in that team, even though he's young.

“When they're going well, he was one of the players that was actually setting them apart and playing some really good football, both with and without the ball.

“When he does that, they're a completely different team. Tommy looks more relaxed; they’ve got some shape out the back. He's hitting these centres with a short ball.

“I just want to see him involved both on and off the ball offensively to really improve the Cowboys.

“If they don't get this done (against Gold Coast), I don't know how the rest of the season looks for the Cowboys.

North Queensland will look to nab its first win of 2026 against the Titans.

The two teams face off against each other on March 22 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Kick off is at 6:15pm AEDT with SEN having live coverage of the match on its radio network and on the SEN app from 6:09pm.