Finals Week 2: North Queensland Cowboys vs New Zealand Warriors

[Cowboy Titan]

What a performance by the Cowboys. Across the field, everyone had a great game.

7 wins straight leading into the prelim final and they've been getting better every week.

Bring on Manly next week. We're planning the road trip now. Looks like the people mover is almost full.

[Robbie_Dee]

wow.

Fantastic!!

much love for forward pack! Great effort for the 3rd week in a row, dominating the best packs in the comp! Very pleasing.

[jenny]

Cowboys trounce Warriors 49-12

September 16, 2007

North Queensland kept centre Paul Bowman's fairytale finish alive for another week and set up a showdown with Manly after bundling the New Zealand Warriors out of the NRL finals with a 49-12 win at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

Retiring centre Bowman converted the Cowboys eighth and final goal in his last appearance at the ground in front of 21,847 fans.

The Cowboys, who lost power forward Carl Webb (calf) before the game, answered the critics with eight converted tries.

But it was their defence to keep the physical Warriors to just two tries and hold them scoreless in the second half that won the game.

The Warriors simply had no answer to the brilliance of the Cowboys dynamic duo of Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen, or the destructive dummy half running game of hooker Aaron Payne.

They never recovered from a tough call just before half time when Cowboys winger Ty Williams was awarded a controversial try by referee Tony Archer which gave the home side an 18-12 lead.

Williams crossed in the right hand corner after pulling in a Thurston pass that appeared to float at least two metres forward.

Archer ignored the vocal protests of several Warriors players to award Williams the try.

Warriors five-eighth Michael Witt gave the touch judge a blast as Thurston lined up the conversion and Archer interjected telling him: "don't blow up at the sideline officials, it's like blowing up at me".

The game had been locked at 12-all at that stage and the decision upset the Warriors who were already frustrated by too much dropped ball.

Thurston was involved in a lifting tackle early in the first half that earned a penalty from Archer and could have North Queensland sweating on an NRL Judiciary hearing if he is charged on Monday.

Any charge for a dangerous throw would result in Thurston copping a suspension and forced to miss next Saturday's preliminary final with Manly at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Warriors forward Epalahame Lauaki was also put on report late in the game for a grapple tackle.

The Warriors started strongly with winger Michael Crockett crossing after just six minutes following lead up work by halfback Grant Rovelli and fullback Wade McKinnon.

Thurston and Bowen combined on the short side for the Cowboys' first try to lock Mark Henry.

The Warriors regained the lead with a try to Tony Martin in the 17th minute but from there it was all the Cowboys with 37 unanswered points including a double to winger Ben Farrar.

? 2007 AAP

[Supergoose]

Fantastic win to the Cowboys. Hopefully they get Carl back but Veaeu was pretty good. They can beat Manly but they'll have to lift again. Their defence will have to improve, especially on their goal line. Great win and I'd love to see an Eels V Cowboys final, not sure that the Eels can beat the Storm but it'd be an open flowing final if it was.

[Poida]

The fact we didnt do much goaline defence shows so much defensive improvement
After the tries NZ got our defence kept lifting and getting stronger.

[Chaos]

The Cowboys were impressive today and the doubts I had with their forwards weren't visible with the massive ten metres both teams were receiving.
It was hard for guys like Price, who are big and slow, to dominate around the ruck while the game was so fast.

Out of the 6 teams left, I thought the Cowboys were least likely to continue past this weeks semis, and even though Thurston is at the peak of his career...I thought opposition teams would be able to shut down his service to Bowen now that teams are focused in the Finals (so far I'm wrong). I've always rated Payne as a hooker but the service he gives Thurston from dummy half is exceptional.

I've been saying that the Eels were the only team that could match it with Storm and Manly but if the refereeing is going to continue giving large ten metres then the Cowboys have got a good chance in the next couple of weeks.

[PROMETHEUS]

The fact we didnt do much goaline defence shows so much defensive improvement
After the tries NZ got our defence kept lifting and getting stronger.

True...but the heat DID help.

[jenny]

Cowboys confident after thrashing NZ

September 17, 2007

North Queensland will take quiet confidence to Sydney next week, happy that pundits give them little chance of beating Manly and winning their way into the club's second NRL grand final in three years.

Despite running in eight converted tries to shatter the Warriors 49-12 in the elimination final at Dairy Farmers Stadium, bookmakers are set to post the Cowboys $2.40 underdogs to beat Manly at the Sydney Football Stadium next Saturday.

Those odds though would blow out the gate should their captain and chief play maker Johnathan Thurston be found by the NRL's match review committee to have a case to answer for his lifting tackle on forward Wairangi Koopu.

The incident, in the fourth minute, earned a penalty from referee Tony Archer.

North Queensland have won seven games straight with their unheralded forwards getting better known each outing.

Cowboys coach Graham Murray described the performance of his team, especially his pack missing five starting forwards following the late withdrawal of enforcer Carl Webb, as "one of the best ever" by the club.

The contest was still alive at 12-12 until Cowboys winger Ty Williams scored a controversial try just before half time off of a dubious Johnathan Thurston pass that appeared to travel forward.

It rattled the Kiwis whose frustrations boiled over forcing referee Archer to warn five-eighth Michael Witt about "blowing up" at his touch judge.

They self-destructed in the tropical heat after a strong opening 20 minutes.

"You give a team like that as much possession as we did and they're going to carve you up," said Warriors skipper Steve Price, impressed by the Cowboys' composure under pressure.

"I can't recall touching the ball in the last 20 minutes.

"We started to unravel a bit just before half time when they scored that try and it just got a bit out of control in the second half.

Warriors coach Ivan Clearly opened his press conference bluntly.

"I don't really want to talk about today," he said.

"I think we left our worst until last and we certainly played our part in the Cowboys' day, that's for sure."

"The biggest thing was that try just before half time.

"We were finally starting to complete some sets which we didn't do early in the game and the game was in the balance.

"I told the guys at half time they were still right in it and that they just had to improve ... but we got worse."

Thurston was superb in taking the ball to the line while fullback Matt Bowen snapped a 35-metre field goal in the 59th minute to make the score 25-12 and added a converted try three minutes later to push the lead out to 31-12 by which time the Warriors were completely shot.

The dynamic duo was almost outdone by hooker Aaron Payne who was at his destructive best out of dummy half, setting up the first of winger Ben Farrar's two tries in the first half when he slipped between two defenders.

"I haven't been playing bad all year but I probably haven't been getting involved as much as I want to and today I got a lot more involved.

Murray said there was a good chance Webb could be back for the clash with Manly which would give the team a big boost.

Retiring centre Paul Bowman reluctantly kicked the last goal of the game in his final home appearance.

Bowman didn't want to take the kick but wobbled it over to the roar of more than 21,000 Cowboys fans.

It was Bowman's first kick of his 200-game career and he froze over the ball.

"I kicked one in the under nine's when every kid had to take a kick," said Bowman.

"It was pretty ugly."

? 2007 AAP

[jenny]

Cowboys fear for Thurston
By Dan Koch
September 17, 2007

NORTH Queensland's stirring late-season charge towards the premiership sits on a knifepoint as an entire region anxiously awaits the findings of the National Rugby League match review panel.

Cowboys playmaker Johnathan Thurston, who was at his inspirational best in the demolition of New Zealand Warriors at Dairy Farmers Stadium yesterday, will know today whether he has a case to answer for a fifth-minute lifting tackle on forward Wairangi Koopu.

While there appeared to be little malice in the incident, which drew a penalty but no report from referee Tony Archer, even a minor dangerous throw charge is likely to earn Thurston a two-match ban due to the fact that he has 93 carryover points from a striking charge he pleaded guilty to last year.

That would not only rule him out of preliminary final against Manly at Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday, but also the grand final, should the Cowboys qualify.

When asked if he was nervous or worried about being faced with the possibility of missing such important games, Thurston said: "I don't really think I have been in this position before. I will just wait and see.

"I didn't think there was much in it, but I guess that isn't for me to decide."

Cowboys coach Graham Murray appeared somewhat concerned when asked for his opinion.

"It's something that is out of our control and we will let someone else look at it," Murray said.

"Johnathan made a tackle and they have got to have a look at it, I suppose."

The incident cast a dark shadow over an otherwise glorious afternoon for the Cowboys.

Given that Cowboys enforcer Carl Webb was predictably withdrawn from the North Queensland line-up, many expected the giant Warriors pack to simply pound the undermanned home side into submission.

Instead, Warriors coach Ivan Cleary was left to watch in horror as his men surrendered meekly, wilting in the searing Townsville heat. The blistering speed and footwork of the Cowboys was also too much for the visitors.

North Queensland's playmaking trio of Thurston, Matt Bowen and hooker Aaron Payne, who fed off the great work of an understrength forward unit, capitalised on the conditions.

The 37-point drubbing was the Warriors worst loss to North Queensland and ended a promising season, which saw them secure fourth place and a home semi-final.

While adamant that his young squad would be better for the experience of being a part of the finals series, the dismal performance was clearly a bitter pill for Cleary to swallow.

"It's just really disappointing what happened today. I didn't see it coming," Cleary said.

"It's not indicative of what we have done over the last probably two years. So that is disappointing.

"I don't think you can measure too much of what we have achieved from today's performance. It was just one of those days."

For the Cowboys it was one of those days for which they had been praying since the NRL announced last week that the match would be the first day game in Townsville for seven years.

In typically hot and humid tropical conditions, the Cowboys' brigade of fleet-footed stars ran rings around their hulking opponents, who curiously opted against requesting drink breaks midway through each half.

It was a decision Cleary and his staff were no doubt ruing as they watched the Cowboys slowly take control of the contest from the 21st minute. That was when the wily Payne tore the Warriors' tiring marker defence apart to send rookie centre Ben Farrar over for the first of his two tries.

The longer the half went, the more vulnerable the visitors appeared to be and, sure enough, Thurston was on the spot again to put his side in front shortly before the break. A cut-out pass sent wing Ty Williams over in the rightcorner in what proved to be the telling blow.

"The biggest play was probably that try on the stroke of half-time," Cleary said.

"The game was in the balance there and they struck a telling blow. The guys came in and looked a little down during the break I have got to say."

Certainly the try seemed to take the wind out of the Warriors, sails, though perhaps more appropriately out of their lungs.

Cowboys centre Ashley Graham pounced on a loose pass by Warriors halfback Grant Rovelli to race 60 metres to score, beginning a procession of six second-half four-pointers as the home side ran in 31 unanswered points.

Bowen grabbed his 22nd try of the year, running a trademark inside angle from a lovely Thurston long ball to leave three Warriors defenders - including opposite number Wade McKinnon, who tried hard all afternoon - grasping at thin air.

So dominant was the home side that Murray was able to pull Bowen and Thurston from the field with plenty of time still to play, while retiring centre Paul Bowman bade farewell to his home crowd in style, landing the first conversion of his career from directly in front after prop Ray Cashmere had carried three New Zealand tacklers over the line.
Fox Sports

[jenny]

Warriors see glass half full

By Margie McDonald
September 17, 2007

DESPITE their heavy loss to North Queensland, there was a positive message emanating from the Warriors camp yesterday: "you ain't seen nothing yet".

There were bowed heads in the visitors' dressing room at Dairy Farmers Stadium as their season came to an end, but no-one blamed the tropical heat in Townsville for the result.

"You can't blame the conditions for that sort of performance. We just crumbled a bit when the pressure came on," said Warriors interchange hooker and former Cowboy Nathan Fien, after the 49-12 loss to North Queensland.

"We were still really positive at half-time. We knew if we could get the fundamentals right and give better shape to our defence, we were a chance.

"We haven't had a scoreline like that all year, so we saved the worst for last, I guess."

Fien likes what he sees growing at the Warriors, with the club finishing fourth in the minor premiership.

"We'll learn from it I know and we'll be bigger and better next year," he said.

"And we've got young guys like Sam Rapira and our halves Michael (Witt) and Grant (Rovelli), and then you've got game-breakers like Epalahame Lauaki and Evarn Tuimavave. They're going to be heaps better with this season and this experience under their belts. We can definitely take a lot out of it in terms of a bright future."

Witt, an off-season signing from Manly, agrees that the Warriors, whose last previous finals campaign was in 2003, will be involved in September for years to come.

"The club has taken another step forward now, making the semi-finals after not being there for a few years," he said. "We can think about that over the next week or so, but obviously right now we're just devastated and frustrated. But I do think it's a club that will start going places over the next few years."

Witt added that the scoreline could not be blamed on the extreme heat.

"It had nothing to do with the heat, nothing at all. It was pretty much one of those days when everything went wrong for us," he said.

Coach Ivan Cleary thought the Cowboys' try two minutes before half-time, which game them the lead for the first time in the match at 18-12, was the killer.

Witt thinks it was the forward pass from halfback Johnathan Thurston to his winger Ty Williams, resulting in a try, that was the dagger in the Warriors' hearts.

"I thought the fact it was a mile-forward pass was the hardest part of that try," Witt said.

"When things go the way of the other team, they really go all the way."
FOX SPORTS

[Capital_Shark]

Cowboys were good, especially their forwards, Matt Scott I thought went better than he has, really lifted and will be handy for QLD if he can perform consistently like that.

Not to take anything away from the Cowboys, I dunno if it was purely the heat alone but the Warriors played like a busted ****. Wingers taking hit ups and props taking spurts out dummy half - WTF?

I still believe that there is a good reason Townsville hasn't had a day game in 7 years and it should stay that way.

Sets up a corker next week against Manly. Can't wait. Unless of course Thurston is out. Perfect opportunity for the Cowboys to prove they're not a 2 man team though don't they'll wanna somehow. This is one time I severely hope the skeptics are right and the judiciary does go easy on the big name player in finals time, otherwise next week's match is totally pointless.

[Poida]

Cowboys were good, especially their forwards, Matt Scott I thought went better than he has, really lifted and will be handy for QLD if he can perform consistently like that.

Not to take anything away from the Cowboys, I dunno if it was purely the heat alone but the Warriors played like a busted ****. Wingers taking hit ups and props taking spurts out dummy half - WTF?

I still believe that there is a good reason Townsville hasn't had a day game in 7 years and it should stay that way.

Sets up a corker next week against Manly. Can't wait. Unless of course Thurston is out. Perfect opportunity for the Cowboys to prove they're not a 2 man team though don't they'll wanna somehow. This is one time I severely hope the skeptics are right and the judiciary does go easy on the big name player in finals time, otherwise next week's match is totally pointless.

Whilst we have played awful without JT in past games will the fact its a GF qualifyer inspire the boys without JT to a good win?