Round 23
North Queensland Cowboys 24 d. St.George-Illawarra Dragons 14

2007 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Cowboys capitalise to defeat Dragons
Mon August 20, 2007
Source: www.dragons.com.au

The St George Bank Dragons have tonight been defeated by a finals bound Cowboys outfit 24-14 in front of 18,721 fans at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.

Coach Nathan Brown was disappointed with a number of his players who he thought did not perform to their best tonight.

"There were a few guys out there that didn't put in for the team tonight and not only let me down but the guys they play with," he said. "I came up here looking to 2008 and seeing what some guys can do for me and some let me down as I said.

"I felt the Cowboys did some good things but it was more us in defence that didn't make the tackles we should have," he added.

Co-captain Jason Ryles agreed with his coach in regards to some guys not "showing up" tonight.

"It's disheartening when we come all this way and we are let down by some guys," he said. "Again we played well in patches but let ourselves down at different stages that gave them way too much possession."

The Dragons were dealt a blow late in the week with Beau Scott forced to withdraw with a jaw injury sustained in last week's game against the Rabbitohs. Corey Payne came into the starting side in the back row with Lagi Setu coming on to the interchange bench.

The opening of the match went the Dragons way with the side shifting the ball wide at any opportunity and in the fifth minute the Dragons claimed that hey had scored their first of the night. On the fifth tackle halfback Jamie Soward put a towering bomb up towards the uprights and Renown United junior Mark Gasnier climbed above Paul Bowman but could not handle and Ben Creagh grounded the ball but it was sent to the video referee Phill Cooley who saw the knock on and disallowed the try.

At the other end of the field the Cowboys began to take control and had four early penalties awarded to them which put them in a great position on every occasion. Australian halfback Johnathan Thurston used the ball well and got it to Matt Bowen out on the left but his back rower Matt Bartlett took Hurstville United junior Chase Stanley out of play and the video referee awarded the Dragons the penalty.

The first points came in the 17th minute through Captain Ben Hornby after some enterprising play. Front rower Dan Hunt took a charge forward and managed to offload out the back to Woolford who sent it out to Soward then on to Matt Cooper who got outside Ty Williams and got the ball to Nightingale who ran 20m and showed great vision and kicked the ball back on the inside to a screaming Hornby who showed great composure and let the ball bounce before gathering the ball and scoring under the posts. Soward easily converted to lead 6-nil.

It was in the 33rd minute where the Cowboys fought back to level the scores. They earned a penalty after Lagi Setu charged down a Thurston kick and Stanley pounced on it only it was from an offside position. From the penalty the Cowboys took the quick tap and got the ball to Ray Cashmere who charged over the top of Hornby and then carried Rangi Chase over the line next to the left upright. Thurston converted to level the score at 6-all.

Two minutes prior to halftime when it looked as though the teams would go to the break level but Carl Webb didn't want that to happen and busted through an Adam Peek tackle on his own 40m line. Running a further 20m he found his winger Williams trailing on the inside before he was brought down by Kiama junior Josh Morris just 10m out from the line. On the next tackle the Dragons had failed to get back and Thurston got the ball to Bowen who ducked under the attempt at tackle to score 15m in from the western touch line. Thurston converted and the home side went to the break leading 12-6.

The Cowboys started the second half the better and Williams claimed a try in the 42nd minute but took the corner post out and the Dragons earned a 20m restart.

A Bowen mistake on the Dragons 45m line gave the visitors a scrum and on the last tackle the ball was sent through the hands of Hornby, Soward who then threw a cut out ball to Cooper who was out on the wing and again showed a great step to get around Williams and score in the south western corner in the 47th minute. Soward's attempt at goal was on line but fell short and the Cowboys held on to a slender lead 12-10.

The oldest player in the NRL Jason Smith was able to extend the lead for the home side in the 62nd minute. It was after a Smith kick that they earned a repeat set. Nightingale was guiding it towards the sideline and a horror bounce made him play at the ball and it went into touch after he touched it. Thurston on the fourth tackle slowed it down and had a look at his options before he found Smith running a line and he got the ball over for a try next to the right upright. Thurston converted to take the lead to 18-10.

The Cowboys sealed victory in the 67th minute with veteran centre Paul Bowman crossing for the Cowboys. An overlap was created by the Cowboys after Hornby was struggling in back play with an injury. Ashley Graham made the break and was brought down by Morris who was filling in at fullback. On the next tackle the Cowboys just sent the ball through the hands and Bowman scored 15m in from the western touch line. Thurston again converted to extend the lead to 24-10.

The Dragons were able to grab a cancellation try in the 75th minute after a trademark Gasnier "shimmy." He received the ball on his own 40m line and stepped around Graham before Bowen miraculously brought him down just metres from the try line. Just two plays later the ball was sent wide and Cooper strolled over for his second try of the evening. Soward couldn't convert from out wide and the score was left at 24-14.

With Hornby succumbing to an ankle injury that will keep him out for the remaining two games of the year the Cowboys made a couple of more breaks but didn't convert it into points and the Cowboys moved into third position on the ladder with a 24-14 win.

COWBOYS 24 (Cashmere, Bowen, Smith, Graham Tries; Thurston 4 Goals) def. DRAGONS 14 (Cooper 2, Hornby Tries; Soward Goal)

Crowd: 18,721

Report source: www.dragons.com.au

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