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Highlights: Cowboys send Broncos packing in extra time thriller

16th September, 2016
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Johnathan Thurston: one of the NRL's best. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
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16th September, 2016
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The North Queensland Cowboys have won an absolute thriller in the second NRL semi-final, in what may have been the best game of the season, by just six-points in extra time over the Brisbane Broncos at 1300 Smiles Stadium.

The game was played at a ferocious pace, and going for 90 minutes both teams looked out on their feet for the vast majority in what was a humid Townsville evening.

The Broncos dominated the early exchanges, coming out of the gates with more energy but couldn’t hold it down despite the play of Darius Boyd and Anthony Milford on the back of a strong forwards showing.

North Queensland though, took control of the game with Coen Hess and the wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo playing incredible games, picking up massive metres with every carry.

With Johnathan Thurston stepping up at key times and the rest of the team doing their part, they found a way to get the win in what was another incredible game between the two Queensland rivals.

The scoring got underway for the Broncos in the fourth minute. After they had survived an attacking raid, they went the length of the field with the help of a penalty and McCullogh would run from dummy half crashing through some soft defence.

Coen Hess would then answer back for the Cowboys as they started to seize control on the back of a full field effort set up by Kyle Feldt and Justin O’Neill.

It took until the final play of the half for the Broncos to extend their lead after penalty goals each way, with Boyd putting a grubber in, Coote dropping it and Jordan Kahu coming across to score.

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At half-time then, it was the Broncos ahead 14-6.

The furious pace of the game continued in the second half and the end-to-end nature saw plenty of scoring opportunities but none converted until the 57th minute when Justin O’Neill scored the first of his two tries stepping through some very tired looking defence from a Michael Morgan pass.

Just a couple of minutes later it was O’Neill going over again as the Cowboys hit the front, running through some soft defence again.

The Broncos by that point looked absolutely out on their feet, but somehow found a way to score 11 minutes from time through Corey Oates. With half the team down on their haunches, they launched a raid from dummy half and went the length of the field to hit the front again.

Brisbane would hold a two-point lead all the way until the final two minutes of the match, before a disorganised attacking play for North Queensland saw Johnathan Thurston be tripped to ground by Matt Gillett, and then stand up to kick the penalty goal.

The first game under the new finals extra time rules saw more end to end play, before Thurston sparked a try for halves partner Michael Morgan right on the bell of the first half, and no points would be scored after that despite opportunities.

The Cowboys then, through to the preliminary finals as Corey Parker bows out of the NRL, but whether they have anything left in the tank for the game against Cronulla next week is very questionable.

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For now though, we can all enjoy what was the game of the season and rivals the grand final from 2015 as the best game we have ever seen.

Final score
North Queensland Cowboys 26
Brisbane Broncos 20

Match Statistics
Tries: Cowboys (3), Broncos (3)
Conversions: Cowboys (2/3), Broncos (3/3)
Penalty Goals: Cowboys (2/2), Broncos (1/1)
Possession: Cowboys (55%), Broncos (45%)
Completions: Cowboys (30/41), Broncos (25/33)
All runs: Cowboys (173), Broncos (147)
All run metres: Cowboys (1766), Broncos (1419)
Line breaks: Cowboys (4), Broncos (5)
Offloads: Cowboys (12), Broncos (6)
Tackles: Cowboys (263), Broncos (314)
Missed tackles: Cowboys (23), Broncos (49)
Penalties: Cowboys (8), Broncos (5)
Errors: Cowboys (13), Broncos (10)

The Roar’s NRL MVP
3 – Jason Taumalolo
2 – Johnathan Thurston
1 – Darius Boyd

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