Startling Tom Dearden truth exposed amid huge Mal Meninga call on Kangaroos Test debutant

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has singled out Todd Payten's decision to make Tom Dearden co-captain at the Cowboys as a major factor behind his meteoric rise to the national side. Dearden is one of six Aussie players set to make their Test debuts for the Kangaroos against Tonga in the Pacific Championships on Friday night, with the playmaker named to start at No.6 just three years after his NRL career appeared to be at a crossroads when he was released by Brisbane.

That followed three underwhelming seasons with the Broncos between 2019-2021 - the second of which coincided with the club's first wooden spoon. Dearden failed to live up to the hype and expectation in Brisbane before being offloaded to the Cowboys, where he also struggled to make an immediate impact for a North Queensland side going through a period of transition. In fact at one point during his brutal baptism of fire in the NRL, Dearden was on the wrong side of a startling personal win-loss record of 5-29 and many would have doubted whether he had what it takes to cut it at the elite level.

However, things eventually clicked into gear for Dearden during the 2022 season for North Queensland, in which the Cowboys finished the regular season in third off the back of a 17-6 record, and made it all the way to the preliminary finals. The Cowboys couldn't replicate that form in 2023 after a disappointing follow-up campaign, prompting Payten to axe veteran co-captains Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend and hands the reins to Dearden and Reuben Cotter at the start of this year.

That saw Dearden - at just 22 years of age at the time - become the youngest captain in Cowboys history. And the added responsibility saw the five-eighth's game go to another level in 2024, with Dearden one of the standout performers for both his club and the Maroons.

And Meninga admits that Dearden's form for Queensland despite their Origin series defeat, as well as his leadership qualities with the Cowboys, convinced the Kangaroos coach that the 23-year-old was ready to make his Test debut. With Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster both missing, Meninga decided to overlook veteran playmaker and Maroons captain Daly Cherry-Evans, by picking Dearden to partner Mitchell Moses in a new-look Kangaroos halves pairing.

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Speaking about Dearden's struggles early on in his career, Meninga was quick to praise the five-eighth's perseverance and commitment, as well as the incredible faith Payten showed in him by promoting Dearden to the Cowboys captaincy. "It's a growth period for most players; they've got to find their feet," Meninga said about Dearden's brutal start to life in the NRL. "Tommy had an opportunity early and you learn from your experiences. It was great faith by Todd to make him and Reuben (Cotter) captains."

Tonga captain praises Cowboys teammate Tom Dearden

Tonga captain and Cowboys teammate Taumalolo knows Dearden's game better than most and said his tenacious work ethic on the footy field could cause his side some headaches on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium. "You can try and out-compete him but it's never the case with Tommy, whether he's defending or attacking, it's at 110 per cent," Taumalolo said about his Cowboys teammate. "We've just got to hope he's not jelled too much with the team and drops some balls."

Taumalolo's Tonga famously defeated the Kangaroos the last time the two nations faced off in 2019 and will be hoping to become the first nation since New Zealand since 2014-15 to inflict consecutive defeats on the Aussies. The Kiwis thumped the Kangaroos 30-0 in last year's Pacific Championships final too and even though Meninga has named a new-look side this time around, Dearden admits the heavy defeat is being used as motivation for the Aussie players.

"It was disappointing ... I know we'll be ready to go to make sure that that doesn't happen again," he said. "It means everything; I know as a kid, playing for the Kangaroos and wearing the green and gold, it's the highest honour there is in rugby league.

"To get the opportunity to be alongside and train alongside some of the best players in the world is really exciting. It's about doing the right things with the ball and making sure we tackle them first. There's lots of strong carriers of the ball."

with AAP