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New Zealand Warriors 16
North Queensland Cowboys 50
The North Queensland Cowboys have taken out a very costly, but all the same incredibly good victory over the New Zealand Warriors this evening in Auckland by 34 points. Despite an early score as the Warriors flew out of the blocks, the Cowboys put on 50 unanswered points against the hapless Warriors.
>>MATCH REPORT: Cowboys get come-back win over Warriors
Leading 16 – 0, the Warriors looked to be on fire after losing Jacob Lillyman to the first play of the game however in the 16th minute, James Tamou went down with a neck injury and almost a 10 minute stoppage ensued. From there the momentum of the game completely reversed as the Cowboys ran away with the contest.
The Cowboys meanwhile put in a complete team performance this evening however of particular note was Lachlan Coote and Johnathan Thurston who were brilliant in steering the team around, as was Michael Morgan until he picked up an injury at the end of the first half. Kyle Feldt and Juntin O’Neil almost formed a deadly combination, scoring five tries between them.
Early on, the Warriors new halves combination of Mason Limo and Tuimoala Lolohea were brilliant and Albert Vete was close to the best player on the park. Ryan Hoffman and Simon Mannering were also very good throughout the game.
The scoring started almost instantly when in the 6th minute, Tuimoala Lolohea made a break through the line about 20 metres out and beat Lachlan Coote with ease to score.
The next one came just three minutes later as they worked it to the left hand side and off a Cowboys error, on just the third play debutant Mason Limo put a grubber into the corner for Ken Maumalo to score.
The final Warriors try of the first half came to Dominique Peyroux after Lolohea shaped to kick on half way and ended up breaking straight through the line, grubbering along for Peyroux to touch down.
Following the injury of Tamou though the momentum swapped around straight away with Kyle Feldt scoring in the 19th minute in the right corner.
Five minutes later, Johnathan Thurston himself scored after Jake Granville darted out of dummy half and passed to Thurston who ran through a hole you could have driven a truck through.
Feldt scored again just four minutes out from half time, off some Thurston brilliance and then with just over a minute to go in the first half Ken Maumalo made an error right in front of his own goal posts. This led to a Cowboys scrum feed and an easy try for Justin O’Neill just a few minutes later.
At half time the Cowboys held the lead 24 points to 16.
Coming out after the half time break it was going to be very interesting to see which game the way went. The Warriors had statted things well, however they never got back to that as the Cowboys ran riot.
Thurston continued putting his foot on the game and Ben Hannant, along with Matt Scott gave the Cowboys a massive boost up the middle, ripping the Warriors forward pack to shreds.
The scoring in the second half started in the 47th minute through Ben Spina, after Johnathan Thurston put a kick across the ground and Rory Kostjaysyn was able to bat it back to Spina who, despite having players on his outside ignored them all and scored himself.
Coen Hess was the next to score from a perfectly executed Johnathan Thurston short ball in the 58th minute.
The final three tries came all within the final 15 minutes of the contest after Kyle Feldt picked up his hatrick, again Johnathan Thurston and Lachlan Coote involved in the play.
After Kane Linnett scored in the 75th minute down the left, it was Justin O’Neill’s turn in the 78th, allowing Thurston to kick the goal that brought up the half century.
At the end of the day, the Cowboys far to good for a Warriors outfit that after the first 20 minutes looked like they would have rathered be anywhere else. The only question now is about the injuries of James Tamou and Michael Morgan and how it could effect the Cowboys finals campaign.
The struggling New Zealand Warriors host the North Queensland Cowboys who want to bounce back from a loss last week. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:15pm (AEST).
A few short weeks ago the Warriors were one of the genuine competition heavyweights, until they suffered a big loss against the Sydney Roosters, and then in an important game against the Manly Sea Eagles they lost Shaun Johnson for the season.
Since Johnson’s injury the Warriors have lost all of their games in convincing fashion, and only three wins from three would give them a mathematical hope of making the finals.
The Cowboys meanwhile have been in good form for most of the season and as a result are just two points behind the ladder-leading Brisbane Broncos. In saying that, North Queensland are in fact coming into this game on the back of two straight losses, against the Sharks and the Rabbitohs.
In team news, the Warriors lose Sam Rapira to suspension, which means Albert Vete is drafted into the front row and Bodene Thompson joins the bench. Sione Lousi replaces Raymond Faitala-Mariner in the back row and Matthew Allwood is the 18th man.
For the Cowboys, Australian under 20s back-rower Coen Hess makes his debut from the interchange bench, with John Asiata starting in the second row, replacing Gavin Cooper who misses the trip across the Tasman.
For the Warriors, it’s all about shutting down Johnathan Thurston. Fail to do this and the Cowboys will run away with a monster win. On top of shutting down the Queensland and Australian half, the Warriors also have to dominate up front to give Chad Townsend a chance of setting something up.
For the Cowboys it’s all about being patient, dominating possession and field territory, which will lead to plenty of points soon enough.
Prediction
Off the back of two straight losses, the Cowboys need to make a statement that they are still premiership contenders.
Cowboys by 24.
Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this clash from 5:15pm (AEST), and don’t forget to comment if you’re following along.