North Queensland Cowboys vs Melbourne Storm highlights: Storm win on the road

Roar Guru

30th July, 2016

6146 Reads

Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEST)
Venue: 1300SMILES Stadium
TV: Live, Fox Sports
Last meeting: Melbourne 15-14 Cowboys
Referee: Ben Cummins
Head-to-head: Melbourne 21, Cowboys 10
Betting: Melbourne $1.77, Cowboys $2.10
Last five rounds: Cowboys WWLByeW, Melbourne WWByeWW

Cowboys
1 Lachlan Coote 2 Javid Bowen 3 Justin O’Neill 4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Ray Thompson 8 Matt Scott 9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 Atalani Asiata 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant

Storm
1 Cameron Munster 2 Suliasi Vunivalu 3 William Chambers 4 Cheyse Blair 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith 10 Felise Kaufusi 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane. Interchange: 14 Kenneth Bromwich 15 Christian Welch 16 Matthew White 17 Young Tonumaipea

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Scott Bolton of the Cowboys. (AAP Image/Michael Chambers)

John Coomer

Roar Guru

30th July, 2016

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6146 Reads

Match result:

Melbourne Storm have moved back on top of the NRL ladder, for now at least, with an eight point win over the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.

» Click here to read the full match report

Final score
Cowboys 8
Storm 16

Match preview:

The North Queensland Cowboys host the Melbourne Storm in a Round 21 clash of two of the competition’s heavyweights in Townsville. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEST).

A Cameron Smith field goal in the dying minutes was all that separated these two teams when they met in Round 10 at Suncorp Stadium, with the Storm winning 15-14 in a thriller.

The Cowboys will be without Johnathan Thurston, who strained his hamstring in North Queensland’s 36-0 thumping of the Bulldogs in Townsville last week, with Ray Thompson to wear the number 7 jersey. Kyle Feldt is still out through suspension, with Javid Bowen once again filling in on the wing.

Craig Bellamy has named an unchanged Storm line-up to the one that beat the Roosters 26-10 in Melbourne last weekend.

A win will see the Storm stay in the race for the minor premiership, as they currently sit just two points behind ladder leaders Cronulla, but have a superior for and against if the Sharks’ incredible 15-match winning streak bursts.

A Cowboys win would further consolidate their place in the top four. They have one of the best attacking records in the NRL in 2016, but that will be tested without Thurston. Michael Morgan, Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville will all shoulder more playmaking responsibility, along with Thompson.

The Storm have the best defensive record in the NRL this season, conceding an average of just 11 points per game.

Prediction
In an early preview of finals football the Cowboys will overcome the absence of Thurston to win a close one at home.

Join The Roar at 7:30pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.

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