Taulagi all class as Cowboys power on
COWBOYS’ two-try hero Murray Taulagi put himself firmly in the Maroons frame and unleashed the pass of the century to go with it to lift his side into outright third.
Taulagi assured his place on highlight reels for as long as rugby league is played with an insane inside flick while midair and one metre beyond the touch in-goal line for Scott Drinkwater to score in his side’s 36-12 win over an injuryravaged Wests Tigers.
Even Benji Marshall, of 2005 flick pass legend, said on Fox League: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The try, scored while Jackson Hastings was pile-driving Taulagi into the turf, set the scene for razzle dazzle footy by the Cowboys flyer who scored his first try with a one-handed put-down of class.
The luckless Tigers lost star five-eighth Luke Brooks to a hamstring injury and finished with one man on the bench.
The Cowboys, who completed all 18 sets in the first half, are proving they are the real deal.
Defensively committed, brilliantly steered by Tom Dearden and Chad Townsend and capable of electrifying football across the park. Backrower Jeremiah Nanai put an exclamation mark on Magic Round with yet another incredible leap to score his eighth try of the season.
Pocket rocket prop Reuben Cotter, firmly on Billy Slater’s Maroons radar, was on a mission to run out of the stadium in a 65m charge to score.
Fast becoming a cult hero for his charisma and million miles an hour approach, Cotter has given Jason Taumalolo a partner in carnage to be reckoned with and someone to share the workload with.
His try was the first of his NRL career and included a dummy to no one that left Starford Toa wondering what the whirling dervish was that flashed past him.