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North Queensland vs Gold Coast Highlights: NRL live scores, blog

5th September, 2015
Kickoff: 7:30pm (AEST)
Venue: 1300 Smiles Stadium
TV: Fox Sports 1
Head-to-head: North Queensland 7 Gold Coast 8
Last meeting: North Queensland 28-8 Gold Coast, Round 21, 2014
Betting: North Queensland $1.18 Gold Coast $5
Jason Taumalolo will be crucially important for the Kiwis. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
Roar Guru
5th September, 2015
93
6773 Reads

Match Result:

The North Queensland Cowboys have finished the regular season of the NRL in style with a 42-12 win over the Gold Coast Titans at 1300 Smiles Stadium in Townsville.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 42
GOLD COAST 12

After conceding the first two tries, and a 12 point lead, the Cowboys responded in brilliant fashion with the last nine tries of the match.

Outstanding defence, and the dominance of the forward pack in the 2nd half, allowed the Cowboys to mentally beat the Titans as they fell away in the final stages of the match.

>>MATCH REPORT: Cowboys surge late to hammer Titans

Early on though it looked like the Titans were going to spoil the party of the strong 17,000 crowd in Townsville.

Great play from Daniel Mortimer, who played one of his best games for the Titans, set up Kalifa Faifai Loa to score the first try from a kick on the last tackle.

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Four minutes later, Josh Hoffman made it 12-0, as the Titans stunned the crowd.

Like the match against New Zealand, where they scored 50 straight points in Round 24, the Cowboys once again went on a scoring run.

Ray Thompson scored first, to make it 12-6, before the Cowboys scored twice near the left hand corner post to lead at half time.

Antonio Winterstein and Kane Linnett would make the score 16-12 at the break.

The Cowboys extended the margin to eight immediately after the break as fullback Lachlan Coote made it four tries in a row.

The Titans responded, with plenty of possession, but couldn’t get over the line.

They had, at two stages, multiple sets in a row but couldn’t get an important try.

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The Cowboys pounced on this, and went up the other end, to score and end the game.

Gavin Cooper made it 24 points in a row.

This broke the spirit of the Titans and they relented in the final fifteen minutes.

It became the Cowboys show as they ran in four more tries to scores 42 points in a row and secure the win.

They now have plenty of confidence as they face the Broncos next week at Suncorp.

The Titans now have six months to recruit and build a squad capable of making the finals.

The whole of the Gold Coast will be hoping that happens.

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Match Preview:

The North Queensland Cowboys need a big win against the Gold Coast Titans to secure second spot in the NRL. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm AEST.

The only way North Queensland can steal second position from the Brisbane Broncos, and win a home qualifying final next week, is if they defeat the Titans by 93 points on Saturday night.

That is roughly a try every five minutes without Gold Coast scoring.

With the largest ever win in the NRL at 85 points, it is highly unlikely the Cowboys will score enough to steal the spot. This means the Cowboys can do whatever they want in this match and still finish in third.

If they play a full strength team, they should comfortably defeat the Titans. If they don’t then Gold Coast have a big chance of causing an upset.

2015 has been another season of disappointment for the Titans. Off-field issues, players leaving, and a new coach has seen Gold Coast win just nine matches this year. They will not play finals football for a fifth successive year and now have multiple players leaving at the end of the season.

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It looks like Neil Henry will have a tough off-season of recruiting to make the Titans a strong team again.

They have made just one change but could make more with a 20-player squad named. Ryan James returns from injury and goes straight into the front row. He is joined by Luke Douglas as Matt White and Eddy Pettybourne move to the bench.

The Cowboys have made just one change so far with James Tamou back after a neck injury suffered against the Warriors in Round 24. I’d expect plenty more though as the Cowboys take a conservative approach into this match.

If they do that, then the contest will be close, with a Titans win not out of the question. If the Cowboys play the team that is named though, they should win comfortably, and set up a final against Brisbane next week.

The halves, and backs, of the Cowboys will create too much trouble for the Titans if they play.

Prediction: Cowboys by 10 if they play their full strength squad.

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