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North Queensland breathed life into their season with a stunning 45-20 upset over Melbourne with Valentine Holmes starring for the Cowboys after doing likewise for Queensland but Storm coach was fuming with his team, labelling their performance as putrid.
The classy centre showed no ill effects of the midweek Origin stoush as he proved a constant threat to the Storm defence in a five-star display.
Holmes broke the line three times in running for more than 200 metres and produced two try assists, he scored one of his own and booted six goals for good measure as the Cowboys registered just their sixth win of the season from 14 matches to rise from second-last to only two victories outside the top eight.
North Queensland were tipped to be premiership contenders this season after roaring up the ladder last year to make the preliminary final but over the first half of 2023 they have been the NRL’s biggest under-achievers.
This was a team that just two weeks ago copped a 66-16 hammering at the hands of the Wests Tigers.
And they knocked off the Storm without co-captain Jason Taumalolo with the Tongan international delaying his return from knee surgery for the second week in a row.
The Cowboys had a number of standout players, with Reuben Cotter immense in midfield after starring for Queensland mid-week, while hooker Reece Robson rattled Melbourne’s middles with some bell-ringers whilst also finding metres out of dummy-half.
“I just asked the team to throw away the finesse and just go back to brutality and playing direct,” coach Todd Payten said of his half-time message. “It was pleasing, really pleasing.”
The win could prove costly for the Storm who have lost a share of top spot to slide back to fifth and Origin can hardly be used as an excuse with only two players on rep duty – Cameron Munster and Harry Grant – with both Queenslanders backing up for their club.
“Our second half start was the same as our first – it was putrid to be quite honest,” furious Storm coach Bellamy said. “We just don’t learn from our mistakes and it went to another level today. I’m not quite sure when the penny is going to drop.”
It was a dream club debut for mid-season recruit Semi Valemei, who raced in three tries in his first NRL appearance in Cowboys colours.
Semi Valemei scores. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
After the former Raiders winger finished off a backline raid in the eighth minute, he made it a double a short time later when he cleaned up the crumbs from a bomb out wide.
Valemei won’t want to see the replays of Melbourne’s first try with opposing winger Xavier Coates barely pausing as he sped through his attempted tackle midway through the first half before Valentine Holmes scooted over for a 14-6 lead.
Storm centre Justin Olam barged over close to the break and a penalty goal locked the scores up at 14-14 but Valemei registered his treble three minutes after the restart when Chad Townsend’s rainbow pass eventually made its way to the right flank.
Olam departed the game after failing an HIA in the first half.
When Murray Taulagi got in on the try-scoring act, the Cowboys looked like they could run away with the result at 26-14 but Storm fullback Nick Meaney’s decision to chip and chase early in an attacking set was rewarded when he notched his eighth try of the year to halve the deficit.
Holmes was again in the action to make a long-range break to send Taulagi over for a 32-20 buffer midway through the second stanza.
When returning forward Jeremiah Nanai stormed over off a Scott Drinkwater pass, the storm was over for Melbourne, down 18 with 15 to go.
Townsend touched down in the closing stages and then added a field goal to kick-start early celebrations at QCB Stadium.
with AAP
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