The North Queensland Cowboys have continued their unbeaten start to the competition with a last minute 25-24 victory over a gallant Wests Tigers side in Townsville tonight. The Tigers took an early lead through a Daniel Fitzhenry try and looked strong throughout the first half as the Cowboys displayed some uncharacteristic errors and struggled against the determined Tigers defence.
A penalty and a soft try to Robbie Farah opened up a 14-0 lead to the visitors just before halftime, but the Cowboys hit back through Ashley Graham to trail by only 8 points at the break. The momentum in the second half swung wildly as both teams produced some flashes of brilliance, but when Paul Whatuira crossed for the Tigers to open up a 12 point lead with 20 minutes to go it looked like the Tigers would finish off the match strongly.
But someone forgot to tell the Cowboys – an intercept try to Ashley Graham brought the Cowboys back to within 6 points and then it became the Bowen & Thurston show, with plenty of half-breaks and chances to put the Tigers well and truly on the back foot. Matt Bowen then produced two amazing plays to snatch the victory from right under the noses of the Tigers; his 74th minute try to level the scores came from a magical run right through the heart of the Tigers defence, and his 80th minute field goal capped off an incredible night for the Cowboys custodian.
The Tigers had one final chance to score but couldn’t reclaim the lead that they’d held for 70 minutes of the match. The Tigers effort was outstanding and would have brought a victory at almost any other venue tonight. Benji Marshall produced some vintage form and was well supported by Brett Hodgson, Robbie Farah and Chris Heighington.
On the downside, Todd Payten could be in for a judiciary appearance following a high shot on Paul Bowman late in the game. The Cowboys were best served by their usual suspects – Jason Smith, Matt Bowen and Johnathan Thurston.
The loss of Luke O’Donnell midway through the first half with a serious injury could have been a cruel blow to an already-weakened forward pack, but Jeremy Smith and Ray Cashmere put in some strong efforts to fill the void.
