THE final rounds of the season are always a nerve-racking time for sports fans, especially if you're battling it out for certain positions. The teams at the top want the home semi-final and double chance; while the teams sitting around 8th position want to ensure they get some September action.
For the North Queensland Cowboys, they needed to win their last three games and hope that Souths or Manly messed up enough to sneak them into third or fourth. That two of these games were in New South Wales would give fans an indication of their finals' chances - lose both and any thoughts of beating the likes of Canterbury or Souths in a Sydney final would go right out the window.
Down then to Wollongong for the match against the Dragons, who had to win to keep their September hopes alive. The Cowboys were riding high after flogging the Warriors the week before, and came out firing with tries to Ashley Graham and Kane Linnett for an early 12-0 lead. The Dragons soon hit back before a dropped ball on the first hit-up after the restart allowed Linnett to notch up his second.
Attack has never been a problem for the Cowboys; defence definitely has. Two Dragons tries before half-time reduced the margin to just two points; another try after the break meant the Cowboys were behind even though they'd dominated most of the match. A punch-up soon after led to one player from each team being sin-binned; Johnathan Thurston then took advantage with some light-stepping that wouldn't have been out of place on Dancing With The Stars to put the Cowboys back in front.
The match-sealer came the way many a Cowboys try has come - Thurston creating a gap, quick pass out to Brent Tate, back inside to Thurston before a final pass to Matt Bowen who scored to put the game out of reach.
SO one NSW game, one win. Back up in Townsville for veteran Aaron Payne's last home-and-away match at Dairy Farmers, the Cowboys were once again playing a side desperate for the win. This time Newcastle took an early lead after some quick hands from a goal-line kick saw Timana Tahu cross unopposed. Thurston seemed to take this personally, accelerating through a gap to notch up the Cowboys' first try of the night. Not to be outdone, Bowen did the same to give the Cowboys the lead.
If that was classic Bowen, the next try was 2005-vintage Bowen. Taking the ball from his own goal-line, Bowen scooted past three Newcastle players before finding Anthony Mitchell on his inside, who then found Tate on his inside to score a 98m try.
Once again though the Cowboys seemed to switch off after taking a good lead, with Newcastle scoring two more tries to leave the margin at just four points at half-time. After the break neither side managed to cross the line; two Thurston penalty goals were enough to get the Cowboys home by eight.
Finally then a match in Sydney; and this against the team directly below them on the ladder. By the time the Cowboys took the field against Cronulla they knew they couldn't make the top 4; however plans by coach Neil Henry to rest the likes of Thurston and Bowen were thwarted by the players themselves.
That the Cowboys took an early lead after a kick wasn't a huge shock; that Thurston had played the ball was. Bowen's kick landed just short of the Cronulla back, whose attempt to grab it only allowed Gavin Cooper to simultaneously ground the ball and thus score the try.
Cronulla soon hit back with a try to the departing Colin Best, only for a slick backline move and some good angles from Tate to put the Cowboys back in front. Cronulla hit back again; again the Cowboys struck back, with Graham scoring his 20th try of the season.
What happened next? Why, Cronulla scored, then North Queensland again. This time James Segeyaro scooted over from dummy half in his first game back after a shoulder injury; before Jason Taumalolo stopped the to-and-fro with a barmstorming run from 10m out. Graham then scored his 21st try to match the Bulldogs' Ben Barba as the leading tryscorer before a late Cronulla try gave the scoreline some respectability.
ONWARDS then to a home final against arch-rivals Brisbane Broncos. Win and a game against Manly or Canterbury awaits. With a fifth-placed finish, a hot backline, the NRL's best attack and Bowen and Thurston causing plenty of havoc, this season has a definite 2005 feel to it - could we go one better this time around?
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 32 (Linnett 2, Graham, Thurston, Bowen tries; Thurston 6/6 goals) defeated St George-Illawarra Dragons 22
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 22 (Thurston, Bowen, Tate tries; Thurston 5/5 goals) defeated Newcastle Knights 14
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 36 (Graham 2, Cooper, Tate, Segeyaro, Taumalolo tries; Thurston 6/7 goals) defeated Cronulla Sharks 22
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