The North Queensland Cowboys have finished the regular season of the NRL in style with a 42-12 win over the Gold Coast Titans at 1300 Smiles Stadium in Townsville.
NORTH QUEENSLAND 42
GOLD COAST 12
After conceding the first two tries, and a 12 point lead, the Cowboys responded in brilliant fashion with the last nine tries of the match.
Outstanding defence, and the dominance of the forward pack in the 2nd half, allowed the Cowboys to mentally beat the Titans as they fell away in the final stages of the match.
>>MATCH REPORT: Cowboys surge late to hammer Titans
Early on though it looked like the Titans were going to spoil the party of the strong 17,000 crowd in Townsville.
Great play from Daniel Mortimer, who played one of his best games for the Titans, set up Kalifa Faifai Loa to score the first try from a kick on the last tackle.
Four minutes later, Josh Hoffman made it 12-0, as the Titans stunned the crowd.
Like the match against New Zealand, where they scored 50 straight points in Round 24, the Cowboys once again went on a scoring run.
Ray Thompson scored first, to make it 12-6, before the Cowboys scored twice near the left hand corner post to lead at half time.
Antonio Winterstein and Kane Linnett would make the score 16-12 at the break.
The Cowboys extended the margin to eight immediately after the break as fullback Lachlan Coote made it four tries in a row.
The Titans responded, with plenty of possession, but couldn’t get over the line.
They had, at two stages, multiple sets in a row but couldn’t get an important try.
The Cowboys pounced on this, and went up the other end, to score and end the game.
Gavin Cooper made it 24 points in a row.
This broke the spirit of the Titans and they relented in the final fifteen minutes.
It became the Cowboys show as they ran in four more tries to scores 42 points in a row and secure the win.
They now have plenty of confidence as they face the Broncos next week at Suncorp.
The Titans now have six months to recruit and build a squad capable of making the finals.
The whole of the Gold Coast will be hoping that happens.
The North Queensland Cowboys need a big win against the Gold Coast Titans to secure second spot in the NRL. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm AEST.
The only way North Queensland can steal second position from the Brisbane Broncos, and win a home qualifying final next week, is if they defeat the Titans by 93 points on Saturday night.
That is roughly a try every five minutes without Gold Coast scoring.
With the largest ever win in the NRL at 85 points, it is highly unlikely the Cowboys will score enough to steal the spot. This means the Cowboys can do whatever they want in this match and still finish in third.
If they play a full strength team, they should comfortably defeat the Titans. If they don’t then Gold Coast have a big chance of causing an upset.
2015 has been another season of disappointment for the Titans. Off-field issues, players leaving, and a new coach has seen Gold Coast win just nine matches this year. They will not play finals football for a fifth successive year and now have multiple players leaving at the end of the season.
It looks like Neil Henry will have a tough off-season of recruiting to make the Titans a strong team again.
They have made just one change but could make more with a 20-player squad named. Ryan James returns from injury and goes straight into the front row. He is joined by Luke Douglas as Matt White and Eddy Pettybourne move to the bench.
The Cowboys have made just one change so far with James Tamou back after a neck injury suffered against the Warriors in Round 24. I’d expect plenty more though as the Cowboys take a conservative approach into this match.
If they do that, then the contest will be close, with a Titans win not out of the question. If the Cowboys play the team that is named though, they should win comfortably, and set up a final against Brisbane next week.
The halves, and backs, of the Cowboys will create too much trouble for the Titans if they play.
Prediction: Cowboys by 10 if they play their full strength squad.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Sorry I didn't get to this. Thurston was off for the final few minutes. I mentioned this about ten minutes from the end. Apologies if I didn't make it clear enough.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Report to come after the video has been uploaded.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
STATS - Metres Gained - Cowboys 1591 Titans 1260 Offloads - Cowboys 6 Titans 12 Line Breaks - Cowboys 7 Titans 3 Possession - Cowboys 53% Titans 47% Completions - Cowboys 29/39 Titans 31/36 Tackles - Cowboys 315 Titans 329 Missed Tackles - Cowboys 19 Titans 32 Penalties - 9 each Errors - Cowboys 9 Titans 6
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
He has been off the field
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
FULL TIME Cowboys snuff out the final attack of the Titans and win big at 1300 Smiles Stadium. They score 42 unanswered points to win 42-16 against Gold Coast. COWBOYS 42 Linnett 2 Winterstein 2 Coote Thompson Cooper Tamou Granville Thurston 2/4 (conv) Feldt 1/3 (conv) Lowe 0/2 (conv) GOLD COAST 12 Faifai Loa Hoffman Elgey 2/2 (conv)
Sharon
Guest
Hey, thanks for the live updates! Just curious at to why JT hasn't been kicking the conversions?
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 79:00 Granville drops the ball just as he was about to break away from the Titans defence. Titans have one last chance to score.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 78:25 Kyle Feldt misses another conversion. Score is 42-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 76:26 TRY TO THE COWBOYS This is turning into a rout and it is embarrassing by the Titans. Plenty of missed tackles sees the Cowboys go forward. Kane Linnett gets the ball, at the end of the play, and scores his second for the night. Score is 42-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 74:30 Kyle Feldt adds the two. Score is 38-12. Crowd is just under 17,000 as well.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 73:19 TRY FOR THE COWBOYS James Tamou barges over and makes it a large margin for the Cowboys. They have scored 36 unanswered points in this match. Cowboys lead 36-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 72:13 Titans kick the ball dead from the kick off. Cowboys win another penalty and have attacking position again.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 71:22 North Queensland miss another conversion as Ethan Lowe takes it off again. Thurston comes off the ground now. Score is 32-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 69:42 Jake Granville is having a great 5 minutes. TRY FOR THE COWBOYS Now he gets on the board with a try of his own under the post. North Queensland are home and lead 32-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 68:32 Cowboys win a penalty after the restart. They also miss the conversion with Ethan Lowe making a meal of it.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 66:00 TRY TO COWBOYS Game is over now you would think. Jake Granville flicks a ball back brilliantly, as he goes out. Winterstein gets the ball in goal and grounds it. Granville also smashed into the signings after the did all the hard work. Score is 28-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 66:00 Going upstairs for what could be an amazing try.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 63:16 North Queensland don't add the two and score is 24-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 61:28 Titans turn the ball over in the middle of the field and the Cowboys make them pay. TRY TO THE COWBOYS Gavin Cooper and Jonathan Thurston combine again as the Cowboys score to almost end the game. Score is 24-12.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
H2 - 59:25 Cowboys kick on the last as the Titans take a great mark. They get the ball back.