Finals Week 1: North Queensland Cowboys vs Bulldogs

[Cowboy Titan]

Thanks Jen. Flying would be a much more sane way to get there but once you pay for flights for 2 adults & 4 kids, you don't get much change out of $2,000.

[Kelvinator]

I didn't think Mason's tackle warranted any further action. This time, I agree it was a push and was very different to Sonny Bill's attempt last week.

Great news that Lillyman will be free to play. Now we just need Carl to make a miraculous recovery.

it's good to see that not every supporter is one-eyed and lacks common sense. to hear from a cowboys fan that mason deserved no further action is great, because there was nothing at all in he's hit on thurston.

[jenny]

Thanks Jen. Flying would be a much more sane way to get there but once you pay for flights for 2 adults & 4 kids, you don't get much change out of $2,000.

$2000, thats dredful.
But there's No alterative other than driving
Or you could BUS it

[jenny]

No NRL charges for Lillyman, Mason

September 10, 2007 - 1:16PM

Bulldogs star Willie Mason and North Queensland backrower Jacob Lillyman are free to play this weekend after no charges were laid by the NRL match review committee.

Lillyman was put on report for a first half high tackle on Bulldogs fullback Luke Patten in the Cowboys' 20-18 win on Saturday night, but was cleared of having a case to answer.

The news would have come as welcome relief to Cowboys coach Graham Murray, his forward pack already decimated by injury ahead of Sunday's semi-final clash against the New Zealand Warriors.

Murray wouldn't have been as happy to see Mason escape a charge after the Test prop floored Johnathan Thurston with a high shot after the Cowboys skipper had kicked the ball.

The incident was remarkably similar to the hit which saw Mason's Bulldogs teammate Sonny Bill Williams cop a one-week suspension for a late tackle on Thurston a week earlier.

? 2007 AAP

[Poida]

No doubt there was nothing in that Mason push on JT, he was just putting pressure on him as youre supposed to do in the sport.

[jenny]

Smith's future up in the air

By Laine Clark
September 12, 2007

SUDDEN -death finals footy can make any NRL player nervous but North Queensland utility Justin Smith would have more reason than most to feel anxious.

As the Cowboys prepares for Sunday's must-win NRL semi-final against New Zealand Warriors, Smith has a question mark hovering over his playing future and also where his young family will live.

Smith, 30, his wife and three-year-old child have been living on a week-to-week basis in a furnished Townsville apartment after moving out of their home and placing most of their belongings in storage.

He's in that awkward position because the Cowboys told him his services would not be required next year, only to backflip two months later and offer him a contract extension following his impressive late season form.

The Smiths had already starting packing up by then and he has still to decide his playing future.

"We are waiting to see what happens. Everything was already rolling when the Cowboys got back to me," Smith said.

"But the people (apartment management) here are looking after us, letting us take it on a week to week basis so we know where we are staying.

"We could be out this week (if Cowboys lose). (But) my wife has been very supportive. She has let me concentrate on football."

Smith is mulling over other offers - with interest reportedly from his former club St George Illawarra - and has not ruled out England.

But Smith, who helped the Cowboys make the 2005 NRL grand final in his debut year at North Queensland, admits it would be hard to walk away from Townsville.

The bond the Cowboys have forged in 2007 is strong after they overcame numerous obstacles to earn the right to host their second finals match in as many weeks on Sunday.

The Cowboys have relied heavily on Smith since forwards Luke O'Donnell (hamstring), Steve Southern (knee), Shane Tronc (knee) and Sione Faumuina (suspension) were ruled out for the season.

Another headache looms for the Cowboys with enforcer Carl Webb battling to be fit for Sunday's clash after suffering a calf injury.

Smith has been alternating between the backrow and pivot and will start in the halves with skipper Johnathan Thurston against the Warriors.

"Football is a business now but we are fairly close-knit here with the players," Smith said. "I don't think you would find a closer bunch of blokes - it would be hard to leave.

"I was surprised (the Cowboys backflipped). But once I get the games out of the way I will worry about contract issues."

That may be a few weeks away yet, based on the Cowboys' stirring run despite their injury crisis.

"The boys have been playing for each other," Smith said. "With all the adversity that has been thrown at us we have still come up trumps.

"Whoever puts the Cowboys jersey on, you know they are going to do the job for you. Every person in that team has faith in each other.

"And this is semi-final football, everyone's desperate. It's do or die."

AAP

[jenny]

Warriors aim to stop Thurston, Bowen

September 12, 2007 - 4:06PM

The New Zealand Warriors will aim for forwards supremacy to neutralise North Queensland's spectacular Thurston and Bowen show in their NRL semi-final in Townsville on Sunday.

The Warriors are not going the route of Bulldogs star Willie Mason, who a fortnight ago suggested the Cowboys were a two-man side, before they went on to beat the Bulldogs twice.

However, they are well aware of the attacking danger posed by Dally M player of the year Johnathan Thurston and fullback of the year Matt Bowen.

Former Cowboy Nathan Fien, who will come off the bench for the Warriors on Sunday, said Thurston, Bowen and others like hooker Aaron Payne were standout players, but they were able to do what they did only if their pack set the platform.

"We're definitely going to have to stop their go-forward," he said.

"People all talk about the intensity of semifinals. That intensity comes from the forwards, so it will definitely be a forward battle this week."

On paper, the North Queensland pack looks weakened by the absence of Luke O'Donnell, Shane Tronc and Steve Southern, all out with season-ending injuries, and the suspension to Sione Faumuina.

The Cowboys also appear likely to be missing prop Carl Webb, who has been named in the starting 13 but could struggle to recover in time from a calf problem.

But Fien said the Cowboys' casualty ward had merely opened opportunities for other players.

"Guys like Jacob Lillyman are really stepping up and laying the foundation for the guys at the back."

Fien, 28, spent five seasons with North Queensland, and was part of their first finals campaign in 2004, before he joined the Warriors.

He was looking forward to another return to Dairy Farmers Stadium, and to the Warriors doing better than on their previous visit there in July, when they lost 12-18.

Three years in Auckland meant the significance of facing his former club had started to diminish.

He still had good mates in the opposition, like centre Paul Bowman, winger Ty Williams and Bowen, but a lot of his other former teammates had moved on.

"It used to be a little funny when I first came over here," he said.

"But I've been here for three years and played them heaps of times, so it's really just another game, and it's a big game this weekend. We're playing for keeps."

Fien has been used in rotation with another former Cowboy, George Gatis, as hooker this season and Gatis has retained the starting berth this week.

The pair know all about the heat of Townsville, where the home side normally play at night.

However, the match on Sunday is a daytime one, although with a late kick-off of 4pm.

Fien said the Warriors would not be using the expected high temperatures as an excuse if things failed to go their way.

Townsville is always quite warm and humid, but having to travel there was the price the Warriors paid for losing 10-12 to Parramatta in Auckland last Friday.

"We've only got ourselves to blame. We had an opportunity to secure another home game but we weren't good enough to do it," he said.

"For us, it's business as usual. We're in semifinals football. If you go and lose a match, you can't say you lost because of the heat. You're going to lose for other reasons."

? 2007 AAP