Roar Guru
The North Queensland Cowboys have secured their first win of the 2015 NRL season, storming home against Melbourne to claim a 18-17 victory in golden point extra time.
FINAL SCORE:
Cowboys 18
Storm 17
The North Queensland Cowboys have had a terrible start to 2015 and will be desperate to notch their first victory of the season when they host the Melbourne Storm. Join The Roar from 7.00pm (AEDT) for all the action from Townsville.
The Cowboys, tipped by many to be a top contender, have been very disappointing so far this campaign. After three rounds they have not won a single game.
Brisbane, the Knights and the Roosters have seen off the Cowboys with alarming ease. Melbourne will smell blood in the water and be confident of securing a win away from home.
The Storm have had a solid start this year, winnin two from three and they were unlucky to lose against Manly. Only some dubious refereeing and the lack of time cruelled them at Brookvale.
The Cowboys have a huge ask on their hands.
Paul Green has made two changes to try and motivate his team. Justin O’Neill and Kyle Feldt have been dropped in favour of Matthew Wright and Antonio Winterstein.
The key to North Queensland is Jonathan Thurston. If he fires then the Cowboys are hard to stop.
Robert Lui is again out of the picture, with Michael Morgan in the halves and Lachlan Coote at fullback. North Queensland need to start their season now.
They face the Panthers, Souths and New Zealand in the next three rounds, so there’s a possibility they could be in a very big hole very soon.
For the Storm, they are unchanged since defeating Cronulla. Melbourne were on fire against the Sharks and will be keen to create some momentum early in the season.
Blake Green is finding his feet in the halves alongside Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater and Cameron Smith seem back to their best. Young winger, the awesomely named Young Tonumaipea, has also been a great find for the Victorians.
Join The Roar from 7.00pm (AEDT) for all the happenings at 1300SMILES Stadium.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson