Clifford happy Cowboys called him home

Jake Clifford was always set to be playing finals football this weekend, but instead of the Northern Pride teal blue, the halfback will be donning the navy jersey of the North Queensland Cowboys.

Entrusted by Todd Payten to replace Chad Townsend in Round 24, Clifford hasn’t looked back and is ready to play a key role in Saturday’s elimination final against Newcastle in Townsville.

And further north in Cairns, his teammates for the majority of the year at the Pride will know if it’s season over or if they need to be preparing for a grand final decider.

For the Cairns-born Clifford - who grew up in Tully - his maiden finals appearance with the Cowboys comes after a whirlwind year which saw him re-sign with the club he not only supported as a child, but also made his NRL debut with in 2018.

His return to the north after a stint away in England coincidentally followed on from two seasons he spent with this week’s finals opponents the Knights.

“When I left, there was always a bit of talk about who knows what's going to happen in the future and there could be a chance of coming home; going to Newy and then playing a final series there and then the year after it just didn't work out,” Clifford told NRL.com.

“I went up to the UK and there, I thought that I had to a lot to give in the NRL and so I thought I would try and get back, but wasn't too sure with what team and fortunately enough, the Cows came ringing saying they were happy to bring me back home.

“It's been such a rewarding thing to get back home and to be playing at the club that I followed since I was little.

“At the time, I didn't know what to expect (from playing with Hull FC); I just thought I’d play some good footy and hopefully something could happen off the back of that.

“It did come out of the blue, but I have taken it with both hands and my family and myself a really happy.

“It was a challenge not playing NRL at the start; but was good going back to the Pride and playing consistent footy and in that Origin period, getting a chance in the NRL, I think I did a good job and just tried to stay ready all year.

“I got the reward a few weeks ago and I've held onto my spot until now.

“If I am not playing NRL, I am happy to be playing for the Northern Pride … all those boys are playing well and with a lot of confidence, so I'm super excited for what they can do as well with the rest of the competition.”

In preparing for Saturday night’s game, Clifford wasn’t going to change too much of what has been working for him so far, but knew his side had a challenge ahead of them to take down Newcastle, which would involve more than just shutting down Kalyn Ponga.

“Their outside backs are sitting fourth in the comp for metres gained, so our kicking options are going to be crucial, where we put the footy and how we are defensively; we have to maintain a strong defence as best as possible,” Clifford said.

“They have got big forwards like D Saf (Daniel Saifiti) and Adam Elliott who is playing some really good football.

“We have to make sure we're really clean in the ruck and take our shoulder pads, because it is going to be a physical game and if you give KP a bit of a window to find a gap, he will, so we've got to be super honest and ready for anything.

“We have got a lot of focus on our defence and we showed a great example of that on the weekend against the Bulldogs of what we can do.

“In that first 20-25 minutes of that game, not many points were scored, but we just stuck to what was working and we kicked to corners and we front-loaded our defence really well.

“Points will naturally fall off the back of that and that’s what happened on the weekend, so if we can replicate that this weekend, but turn up another notch, that will be good.”