Maroons legend Darren Lockyer has explained why he understood Cowboys coach Todd Payten's brave captaincy shake-up after the side's convincing 43-18 win over the Dolphins. North Queensland went into last season as many experts' tip for the premiership but were bitterly disappointing, finishing 11th. Payten then showed he wasn't afraid to make the tough decisions, axing Jason Taumololo and Chad Townsend as captains before replacing them with Tom Dearden and Reuben Cotter. Explaining his decision at the time, Payten revealed the startled reaction of his former captains. "To be honest they were a little bit surprised, but they understood where I was coming from," Payten told Triple M. "Both those guys have shown great humility around the decision and they're willing and want us to be successful, and Tom and Reubes successful and they're gonna to give them all the support for us to get there." Cotter and Dearden started their captaincy career off with a win as North Queensland blew the Dolphins off the park. Lockyer applauded the decision made by Payten as it showed dividends very early in the season. "You could understand why Todd has made Tommy Dearden and Reuben Cotter captains, because of their attitudes and what they bring," he said on Wide World of Sports' QLDER.
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