COWBOYS WRITE DREAM STORY
I’LL admit it. I thought I would have been on holidays a month ago.
Like the Cowboys players I was eagerly eyeing off that first beer, ready to down tools and head to the nearest beach.
What happened next is why sport is better theatre than any script Quentin Tarantino or Martin Scorsese could dream up.
It’s why it captures our imagination. Why I got into this line of work in the first place.
The Cowboys needed the Bulldogs to beat the Dragons on the final day of the final round to squeeze into eighth spot.
When St George Illawarra’s Gareth Widdop slotted a penalty goal to give the Red V a six- point lead with 17 minutes left, it was Mad Monday dress- up time for the Cowboys. Surely.
But thanks to some divine intervention from a dominant Will Hopoate ( thank God he now plays on Sundays), the Cowboys survived.
On that dramatic day in Round 26, Cowboys players and coaching staff were strewn about Townsville, dealing with the stress of their destiny being out of their hands in their own way.
Coach Paul Green was wearing the tie his daughter gave him for Father’s Day for good luck.
Corey Jensen was driving home listening to the game on the car radio, hoping he’d get a crack at finals in his rookie year,
Fullback Lachlan Coote was flipping snags somewhere on Magnetic ... sorry, Cowboys ... Island, enjoying his Father’s Day, unable to bring himself to watch.
As for me? Well, I was in the office glued to the screen, wondering if I was about to write the death knell of the Cowboys’ season.
It blows my mind to think Des Hasler’s final act as Bulldogs coach, before he was sacked, could lead to a premiership. For the Cowboys. Never change, rugby league.
Another week? Good on the Cowboys. But surely after losing five of their last six regular season games, the sole win a comeback against the lowly Tigers, they wouldn’t last long.
The Sharks were then put to the sword in the first week of finals in extra time. Good on ya, you plucky, brave, courageous, resilient Cowboys. Job well done, but surely the end is nigh.
Nope. The Eels, the Cinderella team of 2009, were no match. The classy Roosters were expected to be a bridge too far. Wrong again.
And now, as I sit in a Starbucks in Sydney writing about this unbelievable North Queensland ride for the fourth straight week, and wondering how on God’s green earth it has happened, I can no longer write them off.
The Storm are a step up again. But these Cowboys aren’t scared of anyone. Like a scene which could be straight from a Scorsese film, they were freefalling out of the sky, but opened the parachute just before SPLAT!
There must be a strong sense of freedom and liberation which comes with that. We were so close to oblivion, so now let’s live life to the fullest. Anything from here is a bonus.
Poor Storm. They’ve been a privilege to watch this year, having strung together one of the most dominant regular seasons in recent history. But because of the Cowboys unlikely run, they’re now the wicked stepsisters.
Forget those Mighty Ducks. The Cowboys are our real- life underdog story.
Farewell, Ray
SOMETIMES life isn’t fair. Plenty has been written about how unlucky Matt Scott and Johnathan Thurston are to not be playing tomorrow night, but a lower profile teammate deserves recognition.
Ray Thompson, one of the most loved players in the Cowboys squad, won’t get to make a single run or tackle before he officially finishes his NRL career tomorrow night.
Because of his dodgy knees, the closest he’ll get to the action is sitting on a ute, driving around ANZ Stadium and waving to the Cowboys fans with the other retiring players.
As one of the great clubmen, you won’t see him kicking stones or feeling sorry for himself. Like every great clubman, he’ll do everything to help his teammates get the job done.
After one of the six NRL games the 27- year- old — yes, just 27 — managed this year, Green described him as “tougher than a two- dollar steak”.
Given the exhausting amount of rehabilitation and maintenance he had to do with his knee just to give himself a chance to play, it sums him up perfectly.
He will at least get the chance to farewell the big stage with Papua New Guinea at the World Cup.