In his second on-field campaign in Cowboys colours, crafty fullback Lachlan Coote emerged as a third genuine playmaking option, alongside Johnathan Thurston and talented tyro Michael Morgan.
Organisationally astute and crafty with ball in hand, Coote enjoyed some stellar form for the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, especially in the first half of the season.
Such was his high level of play that he was mooted as a candidate for New South Wales’s State of Origin team.
He missed out on that honour but continued to impress at club level, and signed a two-year contract extension mid-way through the 2016 season.
He was also only one of three Cowboys – and the only back – to play in all 27 Cowboys games.
Coote will enter his fourth overall season – with his debut campaign ruined by injury – at the club in 2017, but not before he proudly represents Scotland at the Four Nations tournament in late October and early November.
2016 STATS
Played: 27
Tries: 5
Run metres: 1,968 (73m per match)
Tackle breaks: 44
Line breaks: 4
Average tackles: 7
Try assists: 17