Round 24
Newcastle Knights 18 l. North Queensland Cowboys 34

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

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

Cowboys history with home final
Mon August 27, 2007
Source: www.cowboys.com.au

A 90m intercept try to centre Ashley Graham in the 55th minute of play enabled the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys to regain the lead and go on to win 34-18 against a Newcastle Knights side desperate for a final home game win, in front of their 12 264 strong home crowd.

The possibility of a Dairy Farmers semi final is cemented after this victory with the Cowboys remaining in third place, while the embattled Knights, brave in defeat, remain perilously close to the bottom of the table with this their seventh straight loss.

The opening minutes of the match defied the final result, when Newcastle's Cooper Vanu crashed through to give his side a 6-0 lead after 9 minutes.

The attacking brilliance of the Cowboys, lead by Johnathon Thurston soon emerged and by half time, courtesy of tries to Ty Williams and Ashley Graham, the Cowboys had built a handy 16-6 lead.

The second half started in similar style to the first, with the enthusiastic Knights capitalising on some Cowboys errors to score twice, taking back the lead 18-16 by the 50th minute of play.

Then the remarkable intercept try took place, swinging the momentum back the Cowboys way, with tries to Neil Sweeny and Matt Bowen bringing up the final score.

Matt Bowen's try , the final of the night was a gem with the mercurial fullback beating 5 defenders, racing 70 m to score, bringing up his 21st try for the season which equals his previous best regular season try tally, set in 2005.

With some spectacular tries, this match also had solid defence and featured two 40-20 kicks, to Johnathon Thurston and Jason Smith, highlighting the skill and versatility contained in this side, despite the current injury toll.

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys 34 (Ashley Graham 2, Matt Bowen, Neil Sweeney, Ty Williams, Johnathon Thurston tries, Johnathon Thurston 5 goals), d Newcastle Knights 18 (Cooper Vanu, Chris Bailey, Corey Peterson tries, Kurt Gidley 3 goals).

Report source: www.cowboys.com.au

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