Manly Sea Eagles vs North Queensland Cowboys highlights: Cowboys comfortable winners

Match result:

The North Queensland Cowboys have put on an attacking masterclass to run away with their Round 9 fixture against the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval by 16 points.

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The margin probably doesn’t quite reflect the dominance of the Cowboys, who were quite a long way ahead but brought back a fraction with Manly scoring two tries in the final five minutes of the game.

The Cowboys attack fired on all cylinders for most of the game, and their defence stood the test as well although having 56 per cent of the possession helped. In saying that, there was no luck involved. Manly gave up penalties and errors, and the Cowboys took full advantage.

The scoring started in the 12th minute. The Manly defence did a decent job early on before Thurston headed to the left hand side and threw a beautiful cut out ball to Feldt who scored in the corner, launching himself through the air.

The next was again for Kyle Feldt as a grubber kick came through from Thurston and sat up perfectly with one of the best bounces you are ever likely to see.

Antonio Winterstein would then cross in the 19th minute after the Cowboys attacked down the right. They quickly went back to the left and Thurston, with a perfect wrap around play passed to Coote and then Winterstein and he was able to crash over easily.

Manly managed to bounce back through Jamie Lyon as Daly Cherry Evans threaded the needle with a nice kick into the in goal.

The Cowboys extended the advantage once again with Michael Morgan straightening the attack after Ethan Lowe backed into the defence and was able to cross easily.

At halftime, it was the Cowboys 22 leading the Sea Eagles 6.

The Cowboys had nowhere near their dominance after the break, and that may have had something to do with Jason Taumalolo being on the bench as they lacked a little bit of go forward.

Their defence still held solid though and Manly struggled to score points and get execution flowing despite getting a reasonable amount of possession.

The Cowboys would score two tries in the space of five minutes through Gavin Cooper and Kane Linnett in the 63rd and 68th minutes respectively as they got their attack firing again and put the game beyond any doubt.

A pair of consolation tries made the scoreline look a little bit more respectable for the Sea Eagles as Daly Cherry-Evans and Pita Godinet crossed.

All in all, plenty to work on for Manly but their draw gets a lot easier after the representative round, while the Cowboys train continues rolling on towards September.

Final score
Manly Sea Eagles 18
North Queensland Cowboys 34

Match preview:

The Manly Sea Eagles will have plenty to prove when they host reigning premiers the high-flying North Queensland Cowboys in Round 9. Join The Roar for live coverage of all the action at Brookvale Oval from 7:30pm (AEST).

It has been tough going for Manly. They have had players falling over to injury left right and centre although things should continue to calm down as they find the rhythm of the season as Daly Cherry Evans continues to adjust back into the side.

The Sea Eagles just squeak into the top eight right now on for and against, having won four of their eight matches, including last week’s 22-10 win over the Newcastle Knights. While they were expected to win that one, they do have problems that need ironing out as witnessed just a week prior in their loss to the Parramatta Eels.

The Cowboys meanwhile, who are sitting second on the ladder only behind the Brisbane Broncos have won their last four on the trot – putting up two big scoring numbers in that time.

With that comes the gritty determined defence that was needed against the Penrith Panthers and again last weekend against the Parramatta Eels. The game was tied heading into the last 15 minutes, but a controversial sin bin to Corey Norman meant the Cowboys pulled away.

There were limited team changes for this clash when the teams were named on Tuesday. Both teams have extended their benches to five players, with Matt Parcell for Manly, and John Asiata included for the Cowboys.

Manly coach Trent Barrett confirmed on Friday that both Brett Stewart and Tom Trbojevic will be missing this clash, with replacements yet to be named.

The Cowboys’ biggest X-Factor player, despite the incredible Australian Kangaroos duo in the halves of Michael Morgan and of course Johnathan Thurston, has been Lachlan Coote. He adds so much on offence, carrying the ability to run the ball, pass, join in the plays and form a brilliant combination or even kick if the time requires it.

His defence though is the biggest asset Coote carries. Because of his fantastic positioning at the back, he is nearly always there as the ball comes to ground, and with that he can make plenty of metres getting a majority of North Queensland sets off to a good start.

If Manly are to challenge in this game then Daly Cherry Evans, Apisai Koroisau and Dylan Walker must find a way to combat his defensive game. That means changing what they are doing with the kicking game as the match moves along, and making long range kicks as unpredictable as possible.

Prediction
Even if it is being played at Manly, there is a lot to like about the Cowboys right now. With no Brett Stewart, it is hard to see how Manly stay in the game.

Cowboys by 10.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of what is shaping up as an important game from 7:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.

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