North Queensland Cowboys vs Cronulla Sharks: NRL live scores, blog

30th June, 2013

It’s getting into must win territory already for the North Queensland Cowboys, as they host the Cronulla Sharks at 1300SMILES Stadium tonight. We’ll have live scores and commentary from 6.30pm AEST.

It’s been a torrid time for the Townsville club since the Origin period began, as they have lost their last four matches and will be desperate to avoid that becoming five.

Jonathan Thurston will not be rested as Matt Bowen aside; Neil Henry’s men are at full strength.

On the other hand, the Sharks have lost just once in the last eight weeks, and have the added luxury of captain Paul Gallen not being slapped with a post-origin suspension, as he was after game one.

Surprisingly, the Sharks actually have a winning record up north, having won 10 of the 16 meetings at 1300SMILES Stadium.

They enjoyed a win here last season, but the most recent meeting between the two sides was a 36-22 victory for the Cowboys at Shark Park.

Andrew Fifita will buoyed by both a strong showing in Origin two (probably the only NSW player who can be proud of Wednesday) and by his minimal involvement in the Sharks’ last outing.

Look for him to be heavily involved here.

Cowboys’ skipper Thurston hasn’t had the best of seasons so far this year, but he was at his brilliant best on Wednesday night, and North Queensland desperately need more of that from their diminutive playmaker.

The Sharks are looking to consolidate a top eight spot, and the Cowboys are just looking to pull away from Parramatta and St George-Illawarra at the bottom.

Join us just before 6.30pm AEST for all the team news and action.

The Crowd Says:

2013-06-30T14:18:44+00:00

fishes

Guest

They do have a recruitment strategy. The strategy is "let's recruit 20+ second rowers and ignore all the other positions"

2013-06-30T13:01:32+00:00

Marldon

Guest

At last, the penny drops for fishes. Now you see what I mean by poor "me too" recruitment ? No targets, no strategy, no consideration of team holistics just recruit them all and hope for the best.

2013-06-30T12:58:18+00:00

Marldon

Guest

Cowboys played badly tonight, it was woeful. They only came to life late in the second half. Very poor cowboys, you ain't gonna win much playing like that.

2013-06-30T12:18:34+00:00

Fra-Dog

Roar Rookie

Back to back wins, come on Cowboys time to get on a run and crack this top 8 :)

2013-06-30T10:18:37+00:00

eagleJack

Guest

Nice to see Tamou, Lewis and Fifita having a chat at the end "How can we stop Thurston in the decider boys".

AUTHOR

2013-06-30T10:17:54+00:00

Matt Bungard

Roar Guru

I feel a bit sorry for Cronulla - that game was incredibly close up until the last few minutes where it blew out after they tried to force their hand and made silly mistakes. That said, the second half was all Cowboys and they definitely deserved the win. It's a much needed two points for North Queensland as they leapfrog the Dragons into 14th spot, and will try to build some momentum from here. The Sharks remain in sixth. Thanks for following along, I've been @TheMattBungard - cheers

AUTHOR

2013-06-30T10:14:50+00:00

Matt Bungard

Roar Guru

FULL TIME NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 24 CRONULLA SHARKS 4

AUTHOR

2013-06-30T10:14:15+00:00

Matt Bungard

Roar Guru

80th min Winterstein with a break, he offloads to Gavin Cooper with nobody in front of him but loses the ball!

AUTHOR

2013-06-30T10:13:14+00:00