Roar Guru
An entertaining game of footy and a memorable win for the Cowboys – just 3-2 the penalty count and that really made for a fast-paced, free-flowing game.
Matt Scott was spectacular for the Cowboys tonight, don’t recall seeing him play a better game than that, and that’s saying something. He made 26 tackles and 19 runs for 235 metres and 5 tackle breaks – and his busts put the Cowboys on the front foot on several occasions. Thurston, Morgan and Lui all good tonight too – the JT/Morgan combination is really coming along nicely.
The Broncos were right in it up until the end but a couple of bad mistakes hurt them, including a bombed try from Reed that should have been scored and also Gillett dropping it cold late in the match, setting Thurston up for that field goal. Hunt tried his guts out all night and I thought Barba looked sharper than he has all season, but the Cowboys’ forwards were dominant tonight and they were deserved winners.
It’s a classic NRL Queensland derby when the North Queensland Cowboys take on the Brisbane Broncos at 1300SMILES Stadium. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7:40pm AEST.
With 2014’s first rep weekend out of the way, we return to NRL action with the spectre of State of Origin looming large on the horizon.
Considering their strong Queensland contingents, both of these sides traditionally find it tough going during the Origin period, so a win here tonight will be highly prized.
That said, it’s the Cowboys with perhaps a little more to worry about – last year they were unable to win a single game during Origin weeks, the absence of Johnathan Thurston weighing heavily.
With their already stuttering start to the season, they’ll be desperate to put two points on the board tonight.
They welcome back Gavin Cooper in place of Joel Riethmuller, while hooker Cameron King makes his Cowboys debut with Anthony Mitchell making way.
The Broncos, meanwhile are without Sam Thaiday, who is stil nursing a calf injury, and have raised eyebrows by dropping normally reliable prop Ben Hannant for powerhouse David Hala.
They also welcome back five-eighth Josh Hoffman, pushing Justin Hodges back to his preferred role at centre with Lachlan Maranta forced out of the 17.
The Cowboys have a poor record against the Broncos – they’ve won this fixture less than one in four times since they entered the NRL in 1995.
Tonight, however, I’m tipping them to get the two points.
Cowboys by 8