Cowboys coach Todd Payten said his club had “already got their pound of flesh out of Jase”.

“We have for a long time – he’s been the best middle forward in the game for nearly a decade – if he’s not the best, he’s in the top three year after year,” Payten said.

“He’s won our player of the year six times. He plays big minutes as a middle forward, and middle forwards don’t play their best footy until they hit 28, 29 and 30, which is the age Jase is now at.

“I still marvel at the way he can move, change direction, and the speed he has off the mark when he is flat-footed. For someone who is north of 115kg, it’s quite extraordinary – he can move just as quickly sideways as he can forwards.

“The emergence of Jeremiah, Murray Taulagi and even Luciano coming to the club, he [Taumalolo] has a good friendship with those guys and feels almost a responsibility to play well for them and show them how it is done on and off the pitch. It’s been good to see him evolve that part of his make-up.”

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Plenty of decent judges had the Cowboys in the race for the wooden spoon last year, only for them to go within 80 minutes of a grand final, losing a preliminary final at home to Parramatta 24-20.

Taumalolo said the Cowboys did not over-achieve, and the confidence levels among the young squad were just as high.

“I’m always searching for another ring, that’s what keeps me going,” Taumalolo said. “I love what I do for a living. It’s handy when you win one at a young age and tick the box early. But it’s not until a few years later you look back and [realise you] take those moments for granted.

“It still drives me now, that feeling of winning a premiership. I’m still motivated eight years on after winning my first one. And I want guys around me to experience that.”

Payten was crowned Dally M coach of the year last season, but remains off contract beyond this season. A two to three-year extension is close.

“If ever there was a coach who could take the NRL by storm, it was Toddy,” Taumalolo said. “He’s such a great coach and an even better bloke. What he has done the last 18 months, I’d love to see him sign a ten-year deal like me.”

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