North Queensland have kept up their noses in front of Cronulla with a 28-14 win over an enterprising Canterbury Bulldogs side in Bundaberg.
Reuben Cotter, in his second game back from a hamstring injury, was superb. Despite starting the game from the bench, he topped the metres chart and got through a mountain of work.
North Queensland have become such a good unit under Todd Payten and, after a slow start, eased into the game to win comfortably late.
This was a richly entertaining game, between one of the standout sides of the year and one that seems to be having the most fun of any in the NRL. On a sunny day in Bundaberg, there can’t have been any places better to be.
Jason Taumalolo was their leader as usual, but unlike in previous years, he did not have to go alone, with Cotter and Luciano Leilua making big impacts off the bench and creating a platform that Scott Drinkwater was able to exploit.
“We got what we needed to get done,” said Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
“We came down here to get the two points playing against a team high on confidence. To get on the plane and go home with two points in our kit bag, we’re very happy.”
In the end, the Bulldogs didn’t have enough and were limited by their errors in the second half. Their style since Mick Potter took charge has been offence-first, so dropping the ball is an occupational hazard, but against a side as good as the Cowboys, it was always likely to come back to bite them.
Burton was the towering figure in the game for Canterbury, scoring an authoritative try early on and causing havoc throughout with his kicking but he was ably assisted by Tevita Pangai jnr and Jacob Kiraz, who were at their awkward best, breaking tackles and offloading regularly.
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The Dogs started like a house on fire. Braidon Burns touched the kick off with a foot in touch – requiring the quickest Captain’s Challenge in history – and from the resultant field position, Burton and Josh Addo-Carr combined for the opener.
They nearly conceded straight back, but were reprieved by an obstruction call, and capitalised on their break by going further in front, Burton this time darting himself off a scrum play.
The Cowboys had been bushwhacked by the fast start, but once they found their feet, they began to exert control. After a period of prolonged pressure, Griffin Neame crashed over from short range and just two minutes later, Leilua offloaded to Chad Townsend to equalise.
The Bundaberg crowd was then given a real treat, as Burton attempted to break the game open again with a kick for Addo-Carr to chase, leading to a footrace with Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. The Hammer beat the Foxx on this occasion.
North Queensland took the lead via a Val Holmes penalty goal early in the second half, but Burton intervened again to wrest control back: His high kick was won by Jacob Kiraz, who offloaded to Kyle Flanagan for another.
The lead would change hands yet again. It might have earlier, as Taulagi went over but was denied by a confusing bunker decision that called a tip off Holmes’ shoulder a knock-on, but eventually, Leilua was able to spin his way to a putdown. Holmes goaled and the score was 18-14 with a quarter hour to play.
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The Cowboys finished fast last week in blowing the Dragons away, and would get another late burst here. Drinkwater sealed the deal after an excellent Cotter carry and added a second that blew the score out.