Sunday, 29 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 21
WANT to know how to silence Johnathan Thurston, Matt Bowen, Matt Scott, James Tamou et al?
Fly them south of the Tweed.
Actually, that's not entirely true: the North Queensland Cowboys won their last match in Melbourne and three of their last five in the Australian Capital Territory.
Get them in New South Wales though and it's a different story. Most media outlets ran an interesting statistic before the Cowboys' round 21 match against the ladder-leading Bulldogs: 31 matches, 5 wins. There's been a total of one win in NSW this season, a 32-12 win against Newcastle way back in round 10. Apparently the Cowboys are as comfortable in NSW as the late Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
That's not to say they were without hope. For all the hype surrounding the Bulldogs the Cowboys - man-for-man - can match them. Both forward packs are scattered with rep players; while the match-up between Ben Barba and Bowen was enough to wonder just what TV executives were thinking when they picked this game for 5.30 on a Saturday.
It didn't take long for Barba to take the opening honours. Josh Reynolds made the initial break, Bowen went in low to stop him, only for the offload to find Barba steaming through somewhere just below Mach-1 for the opening try.
Over to you Matty: Bowen then struck back with a wonderful little grubber kick that sat up just right for Kane Linnett to score. A Thurston conversion later and it was game on at 6-6, only for déjà vu to strike all over again/ Reynolds break, Bowen tackle, Barba support, Bulldogs try, six-point lead. Soon after a Reynolds kick found Antonio Winterstein, Krisnan Inu snatched it, looked like he dropped it only for the video referee to give him the benefit of the doubt. 18-6 Bulldogs at half-time and the match of the round looking more like Mike Tyson vs Gerrard Zohs.
Break over and this year's Cowboys side they were no pushovers. First up Winterstein took advantage of a Barba error to pounce on a fairly innocuous grubber, before Bowen made one of the tackles of the season. Josh Morris made a break, pinned the ears back and made for the corner. Bowen pinned his ears back, made the chase and despite giving 10cm and 10kg managed to bring Morris down just before the line. Soon after Thurston crossed for his first try of the season, converted his own try and at 18-18 this game was ON.
What followed was the most exciting arm-wrestle imaginable. Both teams threw wave after wave of attack at each other; both teams fell just short until the Bulldogs got a penalty from a strip for a 20-18 lead. Sam Perrett scored from a bomb soon after, Barba rubbed salt into the wound with a 79th minute try and the Bulldogs won 32-16.
So a loss, but the Cowboys showed enough that should they make the finals, they're more than capable of causing an upset, even if the game is in NSW.
Just ask the 2004 Bulldogs about that...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Winterstein, Thurston tries; Thurston 3/3 goals) lost to Canterbury Bulldogs 32.
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Rounds 19 & 20
IT'S been a pretty hectic couple of weeks recently. A friend's wedding in New Zealand provided me with the excuse to head over to the Shaky Isles and do a little touring, which is how I ended up watching both the deciding State of Origin and a bride-to-be show us her mammary glands in a backpackers bar in Auckland.
The Cowboys then had the bye before a couple of matches that would give us an indication of whether they were fair dinkum premiership contenders, or merely fated to provide a top team with a practise run in the first week of the finals.
The first of these games was probably the hardest: Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. Despite being without Billy Slater the Storm were favourites for this match, not least because the Cowboys had a dreadful 18-6 record against them. I won't bore you with the details as this match coincided with the aforementioned wedding and reception, but needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise at 3am to find the Cowboys finished 20-16 winners.
Onwards then to Monday Night Football against the Wests Tigers. Since qualifying for the finals for the first time ever with a win against the Tigers in 2004 the Cowboys have had another poor record against them with just two wins in their last 10 matches. This time I was back at work, checking scores while checking people in.
The first half was as entertaining as you'd expect two highly attacking teams to play. The Tigers at one point led 16-10, only for Brent Tate to cross just before half-time and level the scores. Soon after the break Anthony Mitchell scored to give the Cowboys the lead; a lead they held onto before adding a Matt Bowen field goal, Gavin Cooper try and Johnathan Thurston conversion for the eventual 29-16 scoreline.
So two wins in two matches against two clubs that traditionally held the wood over us. That's not to say we're guaranteed of keeping our top-four spot through to the finals - when your run home is Bulldogs (away), Manly (home), Warriors (h), Dragons (a), Knights (h) and Sharks (a), you take nothing for granted.
A couple of wins in the first of those two matches though...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 20 (Linnett 2, Tate tries; Thurston 4/4 goals) defeated Melbourne Storm 16.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 29 (Hall, Faifai Loa, Tate, Mitchell, Cooper tries; Thurston 4/5 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Wests Tigers 16.
The Cowboys then had the bye before a couple of matches that would give us an indication of whether they were fair dinkum premiership contenders, or merely fated to provide a top team with a practise run in the first week of the finals.
The first of these games was probably the hardest: Melbourne Storm in Melbourne. Despite being without Billy Slater the Storm were favourites for this match, not least because the Cowboys had a dreadful 18-6 record against them. I won't bore you with the details as this match coincided with the aforementioned wedding and reception, but needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise at 3am to find the Cowboys finished 20-16 winners.
Onwards then to Monday Night Football against the Wests Tigers. Since qualifying for the finals for the first time ever with a win against the Tigers in 2004 the Cowboys have had another poor record against them with just two wins in their last 10 matches. This time I was back at work, checking scores while checking people in.
The first half was as entertaining as you'd expect two highly attacking teams to play. The Tigers at one point led 16-10, only for Brent Tate to cross just before half-time and level the scores. Soon after the break Anthony Mitchell scored to give the Cowboys the lead; a lead they held onto before adding a Matt Bowen field goal, Gavin Cooper try and Johnathan Thurston conversion for the eventual 29-16 scoreline.
So two wins in two matches against two clubs that traditionally held the wood over us. That's not to say we're guaranteed of keeping our top-four spot through to the finals - when your run home is Bulldogs (away), Manly (home), Warriors (h), Dragons (a), Knights (h) and Sharks (a), you take nothing for granted.
A couple of wins in the first of those two matches though...
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 20 (Linnett 2, Tate tries; Thurston 4/4 goals) defeated Melbourne Storm 16.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 29 (Hall, Faifai Loa, Tate, Mitchell, Cooper tries; Thurston 4/5 goals; Bowen field goal) defeated Wests Tigers 16.
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Supporting North Queensland: Round 17
BEFORE this weekend I had an idea in advance what I'd be writing about. The luck of the draw had meant the North Queensland Cowboys - a team guaranteed to have two of their best players in a State of Origin team - would play the New Zealand Warriors, last year's losing grand finalists and a team unlikely to lose (m)any to an Australian interstate competition.
That was the plan. With the Cowboys eventually losing four players to Origin duty (Johnathan Thurston, Brent Tate, Matthew Scott and James Tamou), I was prepared for a scoreline similar to the final 35-18 result. I was prepared for the often-flimsy defence from both teams, the ridiculous offloads and the spectacular acrobatics to try get the ball over the line.
What I wasn't prepared for that call.
Let me rewind a little. The Warriors started as I feared they would, running in three early tries to take a 16-0 lead after only 13 minutes. On their first real attacking run Matty Bowen held the ball back long enough for Kane Linnett to cross, before former Cowboys Jacob Lillyman restored the 16-point buffer for the Warriors.
Then came the comeback. This season's leading try-scorer Ashley Graham made a spectacular leap to cross just before half-time; Gavin Cooper then crossed in the 52nd minute to narrow the score to 22-18.
With momentum behind them the Cowboys looked like scoring again to take the lead, only for some staunch Warriors defence to stop them. The Warriors were then slowly making their upfield when the ball came loose in a tackle.
Penalty Warriors.
This was a real Sliding Doors moment. The Warriors got the penalty, and from the ensuing set of six managed to pin the Cowboys back in their own in-goal. Drop-out Cowboys, Warriors on the attack, and once again the kick on the fifth is good and the Cowboys are forced to drop-out again. Warriors attacks, Cowboys repel, and yet again there's a goal-line dropout. Finally after three drop-outs Nathan Friend spins over from dummy half and the Warriors fans can breathe a little easier.
The Cowboys try a short kick-off, miss out on possession and can only watch as Lewis Brown cannons over in the corner. By the time James Maloney kicks a field goal, the Cowboys have been forced to defend six consecutive sets since that penalty, conceding two converted tries and the field goal.
Problem is the ref got the call wrong. Replays showed the Warriors layer had simply lost the ball cold rather than having it stripped out by a Cowboy.
Now all this is not to say that the Cowboys would have won had the correct call been made. The Warriors showed great composure and patience to keep the Cowboys defending their line. In the end, they were too good on the day. But a Cowboys scrum 30m out might well have seen a different story.
But it seems as though most games there's a dodgy call when it comes to lost balls. Players are milking penalties when they've dropped it cold; others are throwing a sneaky hand in to make it look like a knock-on.
Perhaps the NRL needs to look at allowing referees to check the video if they're unsure about a knock-on/stripped ball. This could be done quickly and would help clamp down on players pulling a swifty one way or another.
Mind you, the Cowboys could also do with holding onto the ball a little better next time round.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Graham, Cooper tries; Bowen 3/3 goals) lost to New Zealand Warriors 35
That was the plan. With the Cowboys eventually losing four players to Origin duty (Johnathan Thurston, Brent Tate, Matthew Scott and James Tamou), I was prepared for a scoreline similar to the final 35-18 result. I was prepared for the often-flimsy defence from both teams, the ridiculous offloads and the spectacular acrobatics to try get the ball over the line.
What I wasn't prepared for that call.
Let me rewind a little. The Warriors started as I feared they would, running in three early tries to take a 16-0 lead after only 13 minutes. On their first real attacking run Matty Bowen held the ball back long enough for Kane Linnett to cross, before former Cowboys Jacob Lillyman restored the 16-point buffer for the Warriors.
Then came the comeback. This season's leading try-scorer Ashley Graham made a spectacular leap to cross just before half-time; Gavin Cooper then crossed in the 52nd minute to narrow the score to 22-18.
With momentum behind them the Cowboys looked like scoring again to take the lead, only for some staunch Warriors defence to stop them. The Warriors were then slowly making their upfield when the ball came loose in a tackle.
Penalty Warriors.
This was a real Sliding Doors moment. The Warriors got the penalty, and from the ensuing set of six managed to pin the Cowboys back in their own in-goal. Drop-out Cowboys, Warriors on the attack, and once again the kick on the fifth is good and the Cowboys are forced to drop-out again. Warriors attacks, Cowboys repel, and yet again there's a goal-line dropout. Finally after three drop-outs Nathan Friend spins over from dummy half and the Warriors fans can breathe a little easier.
The Cowboys try a short kick-off, miss out on possession and can only watch as Lewis Brown cannons over in the corner. By the time James Maloney kicks a field goal, the Cowboys have been forced to defend six consecutive sets since that penalty, conceding two converted tries and the field goal.
Problem is the ref got the call wrong. Replays showed the Warriors layer had simply lost the ball cold rather than having it stripped out by a Cowboy.
Now all this is not to say that the Cowboys would have won had the correct call been made. The Warriors showed great composure and patience to keep the Cowboys defending their line. In the end, they were too good on the day. But a Cowboys scrum 30m out might well have seen a different story.
But it seems as though most games there's a dodgy call when it comes to lost balls. Players are milking penalties when they've dropped it cold; others are throwing a sneaky hand in to make it look like a knock-on.
Perhaps the NRL needs to look at allowing referees to check the video if they're unsure about a knock-on/stripped ball. This could be done quickly and would help clamp down on players pulling a swifty one way or another.
Mind you, the Cowboys could also do with holding onto the ball a little better next time round.
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 18 (Linnett, Graham, Cooper tries; Bowen 3/3 goals) lost to New Zealand Warriors 35
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