Sharks put bite on Cowboys’ defence
STOP the fight. North Queensland’s title defence is now over.
The battle-weary Cowboys’ quest for back-to-back premierships officially collapsed last night as the Sharks qualified for their first grand-final in 19 years with a 32-20 carve-up at Allianz Stadium.
No team since the NRL’s inception has pulled off the title double and the Cowboys became the latest victim, suffering a bloody demise by their own hand.
Granted, the Sharks, as fresh as pressed linen, were slick, powerful and energetic from the opening seconds. But North Queensland will rue an error-riddled first-half implosion headlined by Lachlan Coote’s thirdminute gaffe which started the rot as the Sharks ran riot.
Inspired by two-try pivot James Maloney, Cronulla surged to a 14-0 half-time lead and they went for the jugular after the break to deliver the bullet to the Cowboys’ brave title defence.
The defeat continued the Cowboys’ Allianz nightmare, with the club having failed to win their past six matches there spanning 2329 days.
Before 36,717 fans, the Cowboys trailed from start to finish and were clearly mentally and physically battered by last week’s epic extra-time defeat of the Broncos.
The insipid Cowboys were towelled up in midfield, with key forward triumvirate Matt Scott, Jason Taumalolo and James Tamou all failing to register 100 metres.
North Queensland’s first- half featured more blunders than an episode of the Benny Hill Show.
So clinical throughout the season, the Cowboys made four gaffes alone in the opening 15 minutes as Cronulla turned the screws with a furious beginning.
Not even the Cowboys’ biggest stars were immune to the mediocrity. Fullback Coote, desperate to atone for last week’s nightmare against the Broncos, inexplicably spilled a Sharks clearing kick after just three minutes.
And when the great Johnathan Thurston threw a forward pass, the premiers were on the brink of implosion. Somehow, the Cowboys resisted wave after wave of Cronulla attack. It was testament to their constitution that they held the rampaging Sharks tryless for 22 minutes.
Incredibly, they were forced to make 111 tackles in 19 minutes.
When Cronulla resorted to a penalty goal to open the scoring, it was a sign of sheer respect for the Cowboys’ defence. Eventually the Cowboys cracked, with Sharks winger Sosaia Feki dashing over in the 22nd minute before Maloney added a penalty eight minutes later.
Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the premiers’ spirit began to break. There is no question last week’s Broncos epic left the Cowboys short on petrol.