Cowboys win Lowe key
New hero emerges to engineer victory
JOHNATHAN Thurston, eat your heart out.
Cowboys forward Ethan Lowe delivered the killer blow to Penrith yesterday as North Queensland escaped with a thrilling 14-12 victory at 1300SMILES Stadium.
While Thurston was an entire state’s hero in Origin II on Wednesday, it was Lowe’s opportunity to etch his name into Cowboys folklore and he took it with both hands.
The synergies were eerie after Michael Morgan, who helped rescue Queensland at ANZ Stadium, again orchestrated a try in the final minutes, this time Kyle Feldt soaring high to level scores.
Stepping up to the plate in Thurston’s absence, Lowe showed the steel of the Cowboys legend to send the ball over the black dot from the sideline and win the game.
It was an important victory for the Cowboys, who will be without Thurston for the remainder of the season.
It has been 12 years since North Queensland has had to contemplate life without Thurston.
He led the Cowboys to the club’s first grand final appearance in 2005 and the rest of his journey needs little explanation.
He will play a final NRL season in 2018 but the 17,876 in the crowd yesterday got a glimpse of what life without JT could be like.
It has been six years since he missed a considerable chunk of the season.
Thurston, 34, has been sidelined for the rest of 2017 by a shoulder injury which not only robbed him of his 300th NRL appearance yesterday but also his State of Origin farewell at Suncorp Stadium on July 12.
The entire state was the beneficiary of Thurston’s brilliance and courage in his 37th appearance for the Maroons on Wednesday but it is the Cowboys who are now hurting.
The Cowboys lacked direction until midway through the second half when Morgan, the man expected to replace Thurston in the Maroons No.6 jersey, came to life.
The early signs weren’t good as Panthers pivot Matt Moylan shook off an early headclash to continue his hot form, putting Corey HarawiraNaera over for the opening points inside nine minutes.
Jake Granville sparked the Cowboys after spending 40 minutes on the bench due to a facial cut but in the end it was Lowe who was the hero.