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The North Queensland Cowboys have done it again, booking their place in the preliminary final with a convincing 24-16 victory over the Parramatta Eels in their NRL semi-final. Here are my talking points from the game.
Can the Cowboys dare to dream?
Two weeks ago, the notion that the Cowboys would be still alive after the elimination final, let alone the semi-final was a pipe dream. Even the most optimistic of Cowboys supporters were more or less hoping their Townsville troops would get up.
Then they shocked the rugby league universe and beat the Sharks in extra time. It was gritty, determined and dogged.
What we saw as they dismantled the Eels last night suggests they could go to the big dance though. I don’t want to jump the gun here, but the way they played last night was superb and the Roosters haven’t impressed me one little bit.
The tri-colours don’t know how to play 80 minutes. It’s been evident throughout the season and the Cowboys now have momentum to go with it.
It’s tough to grind to victories, but last night wasn’t a case of defend and see what happens – the Cowboys played attacking rugby league. They took opportunities, kicked early, ran the ball, took on the line – they did everything out of the quality attacking textbook, and the Eels defence wasn’t up to it.
The Roosters defence has been a leaking tap against good attacking sides at times this year – you only have to remember Cronulla putting 40 on them in Gosford.
It’d be the rugby league story of the year if the Cowboys make the big dance from eighth, and I reckon they might just get there.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Where did it all go wrong for the Eels?
Straight sets. Those two words sting in sport if you’re on the losing end of it, and that’s where Parramatta find themselves, with their season gone when they wake up on Sunday morning.
There was so much promise about the Eels. They had snuck into the top four, were showing quality form and played such a good game against the Storm last week.
A majority thought they were going to get over the line and advance to the preliminary finals, but it just didn’t happen for the Eels. In many ways, the signs were there against the Storm when they imploded in the second half – because that’s exactly what happened after halftime last night.
After making just four errors in the first half, they came out of the sheds looking like a different team. They had suddenly forgotten how to catch the ball, how to do the little things right and the Cowboys took full advantage.
To be fair to the Eels, the John Asiata try five minutes after halftime was a little lucky, but the one to Coen Hess off a pearler of an inside ball wasn’t. That was lazy defence, and with the Eels battling to get out of their own end, defending their own line too much and struggling to hang onto the ball, it was always going to be an uphill battle.
The Eels were never consistent enough to go the distance. Their loss to the Knights a few weeks from the end of the season proved that.
They will be back in 2018, but this is going to sting.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Morgan and Taumalolo are something special
The Cowboys had to put in a whole team effort to get over the Eels, as they did against the Sharks last week, but it’s clear there are two players who stood out from the crowd.
Michael Morgan provided another special performance. His short range kicking game is the best in the competition right now, and he is summing up every play perfectly. The vision he is displaying about when to run, when to kick, when to show flamboyance and when to tighten the shackles and play conservatively has been incredible.
It’s hard to remember him making a single mistake during their win last night.
He wouldn’t be able to do what he does without Taumalolo does though. The lock was barely even noticeable during the game. Sure, his runs were big, but it didn’t feel like he did anything amazingly special.
Look at the stats though – another 242 metres from 21 runs in 58 minutes with a few tackle busts and 35 tackles.
When you can pull those sort of numbers and be labelled a quiet achiever, that’s scary. It’s flat out phenomenal, and Brad Arthur’s mission to limit Taumalolo was in tatters.
It’s impossible. Good luck to the Roosters.
Norman and Moses will be keys for the Eels in 2018
It’s hard to talk about the Eels without recognising the efforts of their halves combination, Corey Norman and Mitchell Moses.
The pairing was never expected to gel as quickly as it did. Moses has always had talent, but he was hopelessly out of form when he left the Tigers, while Norman was struggling to direct the men in blue and gold around the park on his own.
The transformation was a rapid one though as the Eels transformed themselves into a top four side. There were still issues there, and again last night, but the combination of Moses and Norman are going to be dangerous with a full pre-season in the books.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
The proof is in the result – play 80 minutes and you will be rewarded
The Cowboys are proving more than anything that if you play 80 – or 90 – minutes, then it’s half the battle of winning a game.
Last week, the Sharks faded in and out of the game. Last night, the Eels left themselves in the half-time sheds.
The Cowboys pounced on both occasions, because they are happy to grind through the tough times, attack when required and play the full 80 minutes at a high level.
This is a side who want to work for each other, and work for their coach. I’m not going to stoop to a cliche like ‘they wanted it more’ but it rings true. They simply refused to quit, even when behind at halftime and came out of the sheds firing to put the game away
You can’t dominate a game for the full 80 minutes, but what other sides must learn from the Cowboys, is that you don’t drop you high-intensity and level of play, just because you’re not on the attack and on top of the game.
Roarers, what did you make of the game? Can the Cowboys find a way to win again next week? Drop a comment below and let us know.