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Melbourne Storm vs North Queensland Cowboys |
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2018 NRL pre-season, February 23 |
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Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | ||
Melbourne Storm | North Queensland Cowboys | |
14 | SCORE | 16 |
3 | Tries | 4 |
1 | Conversions | 0 |
0 | Penalty Goals | 0 |
0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The North Queensland Cowboys have pinched a win on the fulltime siren over the Melbourne Storm to complete their regular season preparations on a high in the Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith testimonial match.
Melbourne Storm 14
North Queensland Cowboys 16
Two legends of the game, Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston, will be honoured when the Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys meet in an NRL pre-season testimonial game. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8pm (AEDT).
While it’s drawn criticism from other clubs and some sections of the media, Smith and Thurston will both collect a percentage of the gate profit outside of the salary cap.
You’d be hard-pressed to find two more deserving players in the competition though, and neither club were knocking back the idea of a high-intensity trial on Suncorp Stadium in front of a likely crowd of 30,000-plus.
Adding intrigue to the clash, this will be the first time the two sides have met since the 2017 NRL grand final. That meeting was set up thanks to the Cowboys’ incredible run through September, where they went from giant-killing win to giant-killing win.
While the Townsville-based club were thumped by the best team all year in the decider, it was an incredible achievement just to make the big dance without Thurston and Matt Scott.
Entering 2018, North Queensland welcome back their two Origin stars and with Thurston retired from representative football, he can put all of his efforts into the club he loves.
Joined by last year’s breakout star Michael Morgan and a firing forward pack, the Cowboys are primed to go the distance in 2018.
Melbourne, as always, will be towards the top. Craig Bellamy has turned his side into the most professional team in rugby league and even without Cooper Cronk, they cruised to victory over the Leeds Rhinos.
Cronk will be replaced by Brodie Croft this season, with the youngster making an impressive start to his new job last Friday at AAMI Park.
This match will give him another chance to work on his combination with fellow half Cameron Munster, while young fullback Jahrome Hughes replaces an injured Billy Slater.
Smith will also look to build on his form after showing plenty of rust last Friday, while the forwards will continue trying to roll their opposition – something they did with regularity in 2017.
Prediction
This is a pre-season match, but it could well be a grand final preview at a much slower pace and intensity. Still, this won’t be an average trial and the Cowboys should take a close victory.
Cowboys by 4.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this NRL pre-season match from 8pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.