Round 9
North Queensland Cowboys 18 l. Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Sharks ride fast start to win over Cowboys
Sun May 11, 2008
Source: www.sharks.com.au

A blistering start from the Sharks has steered them to an impressive 24-18 win over the North Queensland Cowboys in their round nine match played at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville.

The Sharks established an early 10-point lead, saw it pegged back to just four, before two tries in the final five minutes of the first half saw them take a match-winning 22-6 advantage into the half time break.

After a penalty goal extended that lead to 18-points, the Sharks were forced to show some grit and composure in the final 10-minutes of the contest as the Cowboys fought back in front of 17,000 parochial fans to make a game of it, however the Sharks held firm to capture the important two competition points.

Sharks coach Ricky Stuart, who moved from the coaches box high in the grandstand to the sideline towards in the closing moments to help encourage his troops, was certainly happy to be heading back home with a win under his belt.

"It's tough to come up here and get two points so it was a very good win for us," Stuart said. "They got back in the game but their two tries late was more from good skill than about us letting them back into it."

It was a sizzling start from the Sharks, who crossed for four pointers in the first 11 minutes of the match.

First it was Brett Kearney to touchdown, running off a perfectly timed inside ball from Greg Bird, before Fraser Anderson would capitalise on a half break from Brett Kimmorley, with the Sharks second rower showing good strength to get the ball over the line despite the attention of three North Queensland defenders.

Covell converted one from two and the Sharks had their tails up at 10-0 in the early going.

The weight of possession shifted the other way however and the Cowboys worked their way back into the contest. On the back of an ordinary decision from referee Tony Archer, the home team applied the pressure and a nicely worked backline movement saw winger Mark Henry dive over out wide. Johnathan Thurston kicked the extra two points and at 10-6 the game was once again in the balance.

The Sharks though kept battling away and after a penalty was awarded to them for a play-the-ball indiscretion, they kicked deep into their attacking zone. Again displaying a willingness to throw the ball around, a nice change of direction from Kimmorley found a willing runner in Luke Douglas, with the young forward barging over from about eight metres out to score underneath the uprights.

With Covell's kick successful and with four minutes of the half remaining, it appeared at 16-6 the Sharks would take a 10-point edge to the break.

That advantage however got even better, when off the back of a first tackle error from the Cowboys the Sharks mounted one last raid, with skipper Paul Gallen, backing up from the State of Origin clash the previous night, pushing over for a try from close range to take his team to half time 22-6 ahead.

Covell potted a relatively easy penalty attempt in the sixth minute of the second half to make it 24-6, with the next 20-odd minutes seeing end to end football but no addition to the scoreboard.

That was until the rearguard action from the North Queensland side, with tries to Carl Webb and a second to Luke O'Donnell, in the space of three minutes, bringing the margin back to just one converted try.

The Sharks however on this occasion wouldn't be denied, some great scramble defence on Johnathan Thurston saving the day, with the siren sounding on what was a strong win away from home for the Cronulla side.

While Gallen and fellow Kangaroo Greg Bird deserve plenty of praise for their efforts less than 24 hours after playing in the Test match against the Kiwis, they had a number of teammates who also played strongly on the night.

Kimmorley had a good night at half back, his only blemish a missed tackle for the Webb try, while five eighth Brett Seymour was a power of strength in defence. Fullback Brett Kearney was again dangerous with the ball in his hands, while Misi Taulapapa had some good touches on the wing.

In the forwards Luke Douglas and Fraser Anderson toiled hard, with Kade Snowden making an impressive debut for the Sharks in the front row.

The Sharks now head back to Toyota Stadium next week to tackle the Brisbane Broncos in a match scheduled for a 5.30pm kickoff on Saturday night.

The win against the Cowboys keeps the Sharks well entrenched in the top eight on 12 competition points.

SHARKS 24
Fraser Anderson, Paul Gallen, Brett Kearney, Luke Douglas tries, Luke Covell 4 goals
beat the
COWBOYS 18
Mark Henry, Luke O'Donnell, Carl Webb tries, Johnathan Thurston 3 goals

Minute by minute scoring
3 mins - Brett Kearney try, Luke Covell goal - Sharks 6-0
11 mins - Fraser Anderson try - Sharks 10-0
26 mins - Mark Henry try, Johnathan Thurston goal - Sharks 10-6
36 mins - Luke Douglas try, Luke Covell goal - Sharks 16-6
40 mins - Paul Gallen try, Luke Covell goal - Sharks 22-6
half time
46 mins - Luke Covell goal - Sharks 24-6
67 mins - Carl Webb try, Johnathan Thurston goal - Sharks 24-12
69 mins - Luke O'Donnell try, Johnathan Thurston goal - Sharks 24-18

Report Source: www.sharks.com.au


Thurston injury triggers big money for Sharks against Cowboys
Thu May 8, 2008
TAB Sportsbet has been on the receiving end of a big move for Cronulla in their match against Nth Qld this weekend following a training mishap to Jonathan Thurston this morning.

Thurston rolled his ankle while training with the Kangaroos in preparation for Friday night's Centenary Test against New Zealand at the SCG.

He has been sent for scans and Melbourne's Cooper Cronk has been called in fon standby or Thurston.

Money began arriving for Cronulla with the +4.5 line with bets of $30,000 @ $1.90 followed by $15,000 @ $1.85 and another $15,000 @ $1.80.

TAB Sportsbet has suspended betting on the Nth Qld v Cronulla match so as to ascertain the level of injury to Thurston.

Betting on the Centenary Test is unaffected except for the Man of the Match award, which has been suspended.

Cronk flies in currently flying in from Melbourne and will arrive in Sydney at around 5:00pm.

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