Titans to cheer on Cowboys for decider

PERHAPS inspired by an ability to prove the doubters wrong, Gold Coast have declared they will be cheering on Queensland counterparts the Cowboys in the NRL grand final on Sunday night.

After scraping into finals by the skin of their teeth, North Queensland have mustered a remarkable charge from eighth place to line up against dominant Melbourne in the decider.

The final will mark the Townsville club’s fourth consecutive sudden death contest in Sydney against an opponent considered odds-on to win.

Having seen his own team suffer a tumultuous campaign to land 15th on the ladder, Titans chief executive Graham Annesley has declared his club will be fully behind the Cowboys come Sunday. “Absolutely,” he said. “The Cowboys are a fairytale story this year, well particularly over the last few weeks anyway, and to come from eighth spot to play in the grand final is an amazing achievement.

“Regardless of the outcome in the game, they should be very proud of what they have done.

“But you certainly can’t write them off, the way they have played over the last three weeks, they have got to be in it with a chance for sure.”

While the Cowboys are riding a wave of momentum, Melbourne too have an emotionally charged week ahead of them.

The Storm are determined to make up for falling at the final hurdle 12 months ago and have the chance to send out champion halfback Cooper Cronk a winner in his last game in purple.

Annesley conceded the Craig Bellamy-coached outfit have been “the best team all year” and will run out onto ANZ Stadium as deserved favourites.

“Realistically they probably deserve to win it,” he said.