QUEENSLAND DERBY: COWBOYS VERSUS BRONCOS Scott’s set for last shot
RETIRING Cowboys legend Matt Scott only needs to look in a mirror for a bit of extra motivation ahead of his final Queensland derby.
The 34-year-old will call time on his career at the end of this season and will face an emotional final derby against the Broncos at 1300SMILES Stadium tonight.
But it is the scars of derbies past, more specifically his first ever meeting with the Cowboys’ arch rivals, that will fuel the veteran prop.
As a fiery young bull, Scott was thrown into the furnace in only his fourth NRL game, travelling to Suncorp Stadium in the 2006 opener.
Not one to let the occasion overawe him, Scott threw himself into the contest in the opening seconds only to come off second best against one of the sport’s greatest.
“For a 20-year-old (it) was quite intimidating,” he said. “I can remember popping my AC joint out of my shoulder trying to tackle Petero (Civoniceva) off the kick-off.
“I tore a bit of ligament and my joint popped up about half an inch.
“It is just one of those things you needle and keep playing.
“You can actually still see it, and I have got Petero to thank for that. He was probably one of the hardest blokes to tackle that I have ever had the pleasure of tackling.
“It is something that will stick out in my mind as one of the great derby moments.”
The Cowboys would go on to win that game in front of 46,000 rabid fans with mercurial halfback Johnathan Thurston scoring a rare hattrick.
But it was a baptism of fire in the middle for Scott which would typify the rugged forward’s approach to every Queensland derby thereafter.
And it has not gotten any easier, according to Scott, with the Broncos’ hard-hitting forward production line hitting full tilt this season with the emergence of Payne Haas, Tevita Pangai Jr and David Fifita.
“That was always a good game to have early in your career, and it seems the games are getting faster and harder every time we play them,” Scott said.
“Some of my toughest memories on the field are from derbies, and some of the greatest. We have had a few close wins and we have also had a few tough losses.”
But Scott said the emotions would be put to the side tonight as the Cowboys aimed to dig deep and get their season back on track.
The club needs to win all five games heading into the season’s end to be any chance of playing finals football and sending Scott out the way they want to. But the Broncos are in a similarly desperate situation, outside the top eight and coming off a shellacking at the hands of the Storm.
“We are both pretty desperate to start hitting some form, we are both coming off pretty disappointing losses. It is two teams looking to turn it around and search for that elusive top eight spot,” Scott said. “They are all must-wins.”