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Johnathan Thurston, Jason Taumalolo and their Cowboys teammates might be travelling down to Sydney this weekend for their clash with the Sharks, but after their game against the Broncos it’s hard to see them losing.
Cronulla were impressive in their only finals match, going down to Canberra and winning in a very hostile environment, but their form before the finals series makes me think that this is a clear cut case of a battle-hardened team going against one that’s not quite hitting its straps.
Argue all you like about the Broncos and the Cowboys game at 1300SMILES being a mismatch on paper, but there’s no question those two teams have played four of the best games of rugby league we’ve seen in the past 12 months.
From the grand final to Johnathan Thurston delivering the telling blow in the NRL’s first extra-time (not golden point) game in decades, those two teams have been the top of the lot when playing at their best.
And even without any centres, the Broncos took it to the Cowboys.
Corey Oates’ try was the kind of luck they needed to stay ahead in a game of that speed. Simply put, the Cowboys were the better side for a majority of the night, but the Broncos found something extra to keep in it when they needed to.
But when it comes down to the crunch, the magic man steps up to deliver. In this case it was Thurston to Morgan in one of the best pieces of pressure halfback play we’ve seen this year. Dummy. Beat the forward. Flick it on the inside to your halves partner. Clap your hands together and say good night to a great game of footy.
Phil Gould asked during the broadcast whether the Cowboys could ever hope to recover from a game of that intensity. On a humid night, the Broncos and Cowboys’ forwards bashed each other senseless. Somehow, though, Jason Taumalolo and Matt Scott found the reserves to keep turning up in defence, and keep eating 20 metres a surge with the ball in hand.
It was remarkable.
This is something you couldn’t say about the Sharks in the weeks preceding the finals. Something you couldn’t say about Melbourne when they were thoroughly beaten by a clever Brisbane side a few weeks ago. Something you couldn’t even say about the Raiders after hooker Josh Hodgson went off against Cronulla in Week 1 of the finals.
Which leads us where, exactly?
To me, the only truly remarkable sides in the competition are Canberra and North Queensland. (Click to Tweet)They might both be playing away this weekend, but I see these two teams winning. No Sydney team in the grand final, again.
From there, I look at the Cowboys and I see a big pack with plenty of go forward, points in their backs, and composure. I see everything about the Cowboys in the Raiders side, too, minus the composure bit.
It’s not that they don’t have great players who have shown maturity above their experience. Nothing like that. I’m talking about the poise shown by Johnathan Thurston in the final minutes of an absolutely savage game against the Broncos.
I’ve never seen more players sucking back breaths a foot off the ground for so much of an NRL fixture. I’ve never seen Johnathan Thurston look more exhausted.
Yet he stepped up, showed, went, and delivered his team to the preliminary final.
None of the other teams have the weapons the Cowboys do, on top of the man who’s done it all before.
That’s why I’m tipping the Cowboys to go all the way from here. It’s going to take something I don’t believe is in the other teams to beat them at this time of year.
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