Cowboys defence holds Wattles out
RUGBY LEAGUE: An impenetrable defensive effort from Warwick has guided them to a grand final qualifying berth against Valleys.
With everything bar the kitchen sink thrown at them by Wattles, the Cowboys were able to hold solid throughout the 80 minutes, scoring six tries to two in a 26-12 victory at Clive Berghofer Stadium.
The Southern Downs rivals came together on more than one occasion in a fiery encounter, which resulted in Nathan Gaulton and Simona Vavega spending time in the sin bin.
Despite dropping the ball with their first two touches of the ball, it was the Cowboys who struck first in the 7th minute of play.
Five-eighth Coedie Tandy had pin-point accuracy off a chip kick close to the line, getting it over the hands of Wattles opposite Michael Marshall and into the waiting arms of Mitch Watson, who was able to ground the ball despite being upended.
Handling errors crept back into Warwick’s game, as they failed to complete their set after points.
Wattles immediately made them pay, with a long Matt Duggan ball finding Nick van der Poel, who got on the outside of Joe Fuiamono to hit straight back and give the Warriors a 6-4 lead.
As both teams continued to struggle to finish off their sets, a gritty Jarred Bradfield barged his way over from close range in the 26th minute to give the Cowboys a slender two-point advantage.
They were able to stretch it out to a converted try just minutes later, as Tandy’s crossfield kick found the feet of Mathew Marshall.
Instead of picking it up, Marshall tapped the ball with his foot, with the bounce finding Zach Koitka, who dived his way over in the corner, putting Warwick ahead 12-6 at halftime.
Wattles came out of the sheds firing, and made the most of being camped deep in the Warwick half, as Duggan held off a defender to give a one-handed offload to Ty Gardner, who crashed over near the posts to level the scores after 48 minutes.
Tandy again found himself in the thick of things, picking up his second try assist of the afternoon just minutes later as he broke through a defender and got an offload away to Cody Byrne to wrestle the lead back for the Cowboys.
Just as Wattles looked poised to hit back in the 56th minute, Gaulton received his marching orders for striking Ben Sullivan after the Wattles front-rower played the ball. Vavega was also given a spell for being the third man in.
Warwick’s ball-handling again let them down as they looked to put the Warriors away, however their defence held solid as they defended multiple sets on their line.
Eventually the Cowboys got their hands on the ball in Wattles territory, and made them pay 12 minutes from full-time as Marshall cut back on the inside to score and put themselves ahead by 10.
The result was sealed moments later as Koitka latched onto a Josh Cruice kick to complete his double and send Warwick fans home happy.
The Cowboys will now battle Valleys for a spot in the decider, while Wattles looks to keep its season alive against Dalby.
WARWICK 26 (Zach Koitka 2, Mitch Watson, Jarred Bradfield, Cody Byrne, Mathew Marshall tries; Marshall goal) defeated WATTLES 12
(Nick van der Poel, Ty Gardner tries; Matt Duggan 2 goals)