Young gun fires against Roosters
But it was Clifford’s effort across the 80 minutes that was most impressive as he steered a united North Queensland outfit around the park.
Cowboys coach Paul Green believed the 21-yearold was just delivering on the promise he had shown since rising through the ranks.
“I think this is a game he should take a lot of confidence out of. We all know the talent he has got but to be fair up to this point has not been able to produce it consistently,” Green said.
“We lost Morgo after Origin and had a late change with Johnny going into the halves, so we really needed Cliffo to step up today and do his job. I thought he was outstanding.
“This is probably a game we all hoped was coming for him. He needs to take a lot of confidence, I said that to him after the game. His opposite (Cooper Cronk) is one of the best halfbacks to play the game, so he should take a lot of confidence out of today.”
Clifford ran the ball with gusto throughout the match and kicked with precision, finding 462 metres off the boot from 18 kicks.
It was a strong team performance from the Cowboys, showing an increased resilience in defence and finishing the match with a 90 per cent completion rate.
While most had written them off before a ball had been kicked at Gosford, it was the belief in each other that saw them overcome the odds.
It was also the belief they had in milestone man Gavin Cooper. The inspirational leader finished his 300th game like he had done hundreds before it, sporting the wounds of battle. He went to war for his side, and the rest of the troops responded accordingly.
“I was really pleased. We had a few positional changes, Hessy ended up out in the centres,” Green said.
“I don’t want to single anyone out in particular, it was a very good team effort and to be fair we haven’t been consistent enough in that area.
“We stayed in the contest for the whole 80 minutes, and everyone contributed.
“The win has kept us in the hunt. It is still wide open there, and we have given ourselves a chance. It is important we don’t waste the win today.
“I think with the improvement of some of our players. We are going through a period where some guys are getting the experience.
“If those guys repeat what they did (yesterday), then there is no reason we can’t be in the hunt at the end of the year.” He has become the unlikely hero for the Cowboys.
In front of two of the best halves in the club’s history, Johnathan Thurston and Michael Morgan, Jake Clifford stood tall at Central Coast Stadium with a field goal to seal an ultimate upset win over the reigning premiers. He was massive for the Cowboys for the full 80 minutes, taking the reins of the side in the absence of Morgan. His kicking game was superb with the halfback finding 462 metres off the boot. He also scored the Cowboys’ opening try with a silky piece of solo work slicing back off the right foot and baffling the Roosters defence. Brett Morris almost proved to be a match winner for the Roosters, but it wasn’t his second-half try that was the most important effort from the veteran centre. The 32-year-old pulled off an impressive one-on-one tackle in the first half to put a stop to a potent Cowboys attacking raid, and in the following set of defence he cleaned up a Clifford grubber and escaped the in-goal to avoid a repeat set. He also came into his own in the second half exploiting a reshuffled Cowboys’ defensive line to almost steal a come-from-behind win. Morris finished the game with three tackle breaks, one offload, a line break and a try.