North Queensland Cowboys head coach Todd Payten has revealed the reason captain and star five-eighth Tom Dearden could be an NRL coach in waiting.
Despite Melbourne Storm star Cameron Munster and Manly Sea Eagles halfback Daly Cherry-Evans both being fit for ahead of State of Origin selection in the coming weeks, Dearden sent a clear message to Queensland coach Billy Slater by running on five try assists in a 50 points to 18 beatdown of the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday evening in Townsville.
While he may struggle to win a Queensland jersey, Payten said he has been impressed by Dearden's performances and his leadership, with messages being run from the coaches box already being told to the playing group on field during the win.
"He's going pretty good. It was an interrupted week for him. He missed a session on Wednesday being a little sick. I thought it was a real captain's knock today," Payten said of Dearden.
"What I liked, I guess, if I sent down a message after a try, whether it was us or them scoring, the feedback I was getting was that he was already telling the players the same message before the runner got out there."
The Toowoomba-born 24-year-old has come into his own over the last three seasons at the Cowboys, playing a key role in the club's run to the finals last year, but this has been his strongest start to a season to date.
Dearden's running game - where he is averaging over 100 metres per contest for the first time in his career - has been strong, while he has also taken on more kicking responsibility this year, with 705 metres off the boot already this year.
The five-eighth averaged just 29 metres per game off the boot last year, and hasn't had more than 100 kicking metres per game since 2021, while his try assist haul on Saturday means he has seven for the year, compared to 13, 10 and 15 in the last three full seasons.
