REIGNING Dally M Player of the Year Jason Taumalolo believes the Cowboys have the depth to cover for the loss of prop Matt Scott as he prepares to fight a potential suspension for a shoulder charge against the Broncos last Friday.
Taumalolo and Scott will both contest the charges levelled at them by the match review committee with Scott’s possible suspension somewhat irrelevant given confirmation on Monday that he has suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
Taumalolo’s grade one charge for his tackle on Alex Glenn in the 26th minute brings with it a base penalty of 200 points and by pleading not guilty he risks spending two weeks on the sideline rather than one by taking the early guilty plea.
With James Tamou and Ben Hannant no longer at the club the loss of Scott threatens to bring North Queensland’s premiership aspirations unstuck after just two weeks but Taumalolo is confident the youngsters in the squad can help fill the void.
The Cowboys also have former Raider Shaun Fensom waiting in the wings and Taumalolo conceded that the young forwards will need to learn fast in order to replace someone of Scott’s stature.
“His go-forward and leadership is what drives the team.
