Roosters primed for ride, Cowboys set for a storm
‘‘I made sure I thanked all the players and walked to the other side of the field and thanked the fans,’’ Pritchard said.’’
Roosters coach Trent Robinson said star halfback Mitchell Pearce, who hasn’t played since tearing a hamstring in round 22, would be a definite starter against the Broncos.
The Cowboys marched into the preliminary finals with a 39-0 rout over the Cronulla Sharks – and were praising their bulwark prop Matt Scott afterwards.
The test prop amassed a remarkable 136m in the first half alone, with four tackle busts and a line break as North Queensland made their first preliminary final since 2007. He finished with 182m.
The Cowboys were able to convert their 60 per cent possession stat into points, leading 19-0 at halftime, and were equally emphatic in the second half, with halfback Johnathan Thurston running the show to the extent he was flinging the ball through his legs to set up tries.
Cowboys coach Paul Green sent a shudder through the rest of the competition when he claimed North Queensland could get better.
‘‘That was one of our better performances but there is still room to improve,’’ he said.
Nothing went right for the Sharks, and their inspirational skipper Paul Gallen was often off the park seeking treatment for a nasty ankle injury.
North Queensland’s preliminary opponents the Storm had the weekend off, allowing Marika Koroibete (heel laceration), Jordan McLean (knee) and Tim Glasby (knee) to get over their injuries. Jason Day remains on track to become Australia’s youngest ever world No 1 after extending his lead to six shots after the third round of the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour.
Despite not reaching the heights of his opening two rounds Day continues to dominate the field and has reached 20-under par at Conway Farms Golf Club in Illinois.
After only carding two bogeys over the opening two rounds Day notched up four bogeys in a scratchy third round but countered with six birdies for a two-under-69 to be six clear of Americans Daniel Berger (70) and Scott Piercy (67) who share second at 14-under.
It is the largest 54-hole lead on the US PGA tour this season.
Kiwi Danny Lee went backwards after a two-over par 73, which included three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey at the par-five 18th.
A rare over-par round for the New Zealand No 1 wasn’t really detrimental to either his position in the tournament or the FedEx Cup playoffs; Lee dropped seven places to 41st in the tournament, at three-under par, and is projected to drop from 14th to 18th in the playoff standings.
The top 30 players in the standings, after Monday’s final round of the BMW, will tee up in the season-ending Tour Championship and Lee will be inside the cut mark.
Current world No.1 Rory McIlroy, who can only stay there if Day does not win the tournament, is 13-under and fourth alone after a 67.
Day is still seven weeks away from his 28th birthday.