A few standard sets to kick us off, not much happening early.
After a 20m restart, the Roosters get to 15m out but Pearce passes forward to halt momentum under a heavy tackle by Cooper. (1H 1:01)
Maloney sends a bomb from 20m to the right wing but it bounces out of bounds. (1H 2:33)
Ferguson tried to get there but two Cowboys worried him out of it. (1H 2:33)
Tupou fields a long kick from midfield 10m out from his line and begins another Rooster attack. (1H 4:35)
Maloney bombs to the left wing and O’Neill catches it just outside his line. (1H 4:35)
Most of the play in the Roosters half so far, Cowboys have barely got past halfway. (1H 5:59)
O’Neill is put under pressure again and this time coughs it up to cause a 10m scrum. (1H 6:54)
Jennings draws two on the left wing and passes to Tupou who crosses standing up with a quality offload. First blood to Easts. (1H 8:24)
Maloney takes the kick on the left sideline, and just misses on the far side. (1H 9:39)
The Cowboys have been kicking from midfield whereas Maloney has been able to pinpoint some bombs to the wing where pressure can be applied. That causes points. (1H 9:39)
The Cowboys get their first serious attacking set in the last 20m, Thurston kicks low to the left wing but it’s cut off. (1H 9:39)
Pearce kicks to the left wing, Kenny-Dowell contests in the air but knocks it on under pressure from Thurston and Winterstein. (1H 13:21)
Thurston kicks from midfield, it dribbles to the in goal but is cleaned up by Tuivasa-Sheck. (1H 14:00)
Pearce kicks from midfield this time, a measure of how the Cowboys have regained some field position. (1H 14:52)
Guerra is pinged for a penalty in a three man tackle 30m out on the left side. Thurston decides on a kick to touch. (1H 14:52)
Guerra saves a Taumalolo try attempt on the left. (1H 16:43)
Thurston pokes a kick to the left, Kenny-Dowall gathers but fumbles, is it a try? Video ref… (1H 16:43)
It was Waerea-Hargreaves with the drop, Cooper chasing… (1H 17:26)
Correction, that was earlier. It was Kenny-Dowall with the error. (1H 18:25)
Looks to be a Cowboy knock on out of Kenny-Dowell’s hands by Morgan, ref ruled no try. (1H 18:25)
Goal line drop out to resume the action, as it is ruled that Kenny-Dowall was the one to knock it on. (1H 18:25)
Winterstein fumbles the swirling line drop out at midfield! (1H 18:25)
Penalty for too long in the tackle against the Cowboys at midfield. (1H 18:25)
Pearce grubbers from 20m on the left wing diagonally to the left of the posts, Jennings flies in to catch and ground it for the try! (1H 20:22)
Correction, it was from the right wing. (1H 20:22)
Maloney pops through the easy conversion. The Cowboys have been pressing in the last five minutes but the Roosters didn’t take long to score when it was their turn to attack, helped by that penalty. (1H 21:23)
Lowe it was with the penalty at midfield to set up that score. (1H 21:23)
Maloney bombs from 25m to the left wing, O’Neill again fluffs it 5m out from his line, another chance for Easts. (1H 21:23)
O’Neill looks a bit shellshocked with so many high bombs targeting him. (1H 21:23)
Pearce kicks to the right, it bounces off Cooper’s foot and into the hands of Guerra who is challenged mid air but twists and grounds it for an athletic try! (1H 25:26)
Video ref to confirm the details… no problem. (1H 25:26)
Another easy conversion for Maloney. The Cowboys have no answer for the Roosters’ kicking game. Bombs, grubbers, they are all working. (1H 26:06)
The kick off hits the back line on the full. Nothing going right for North Queensland. (1H 26:06)
Tuivasa-Sheck bounces off a tackle 5m out, two more Cowboys loom but he twists past them and reaches out for a score. But was there obstruction on Thurston? (1H 28:18)
Yes, Thurston was obstructed by Linnett. No try. (1H 28:18)
The Cowboys surge, Morgan grubbers from 5m on the left but Tuivasa-Sheck mops up and is tackled in goal. (1H 29:28)
O’Neill is swamped as he goes for the right sideline and another Cowboy attack is snuffed out. (1H 29:52)
Kenny-Dowall loses the ball 15m out from his own line to give North Queensland a chance nearing half time. (1H 29:52)
Hannant drops it cold 15m out to kill momentum, the home Cowboy crowd sighs in frustration. (1H 31:23)
Another knock on in the attacking half for the Cowboys, this time by O’Neill. (1H 32:15)
Maloney passes to Tuivasa-Sheck who busts through the line 25m out on the left, he has the full back to beat and passes past him to Cordner for the score under the posts. (1H 34:27)
Maloney has yet another soda of a conversion. (1H 34:27)
Thurston bombs from halfway but it’s off Cooper backwards and the Roosters collect… then attack! But there’s a Bolton knock on 25m out. (1H 38:44)
A penalty against Wright in a tackle on Jennings 25m out gives the Cowboys a late chance, the siren sounds… nothing comes of it. (1H 38:44)
The Roosters have almost completely dominated this game with an unstoppable kicking display which has left the Cowboy defence literally reeling. (1H 39:55)
Tamou knocks on to start the second half as badly as the Cowboys went in the first. (2H 40:00)
The Roosters start 30m out, Tuivasa-Sheck kicks on first tackle but that’s ambitious, and not dangerous. (2H 40:00)
A penalty against Maloney for hanging on 35m out from his line late in the tackle count helps out NQ further. (2H 40:30)
Thurston passes right to Morgan who finds a hole and leaps through it, but just as he’s about to score he knocks on. (2H 41:10)
Tupou catches a bomb to the left wing 5m out but under a double tackle, he loses it forward. (2H 42:54)
A rare dangerous bomb by the Cowboys is easily dealt with by Kenny-Dowall 5m out. (2H 44:05)
Taukeiaho knocks on trying for an offload to Guerra under a double tackle. (2H 44:46)
Another high kick to the wing by the Cowboys, Tupou goes up over a pack but knocks it on. (2H 44:46)
A couple of try-saving tackles by Ferguson then Jennings, then it’s off Ferguson’s boot over the sideline to give the Cowboys the ball back. (2H 46:05)
Another big tackle by Ferguson 10m out forces a knock on by Linnett. The Roosters are playing a complete game this evening. (2H 46:05)
Cooper tries an offload on the left wing under a double tackle but it’s knocked down for a turnover. (2H 48:50)
Ferguson grubbers to the right wing, it’s off Tuivasa-Sheck and over the sideline in goal. (2H 51:11)
Lui kicks across the goal line to the right side, Tupou rises above the pack and takes the mark. (2H 51:54)
Tuivasa-Sheck bobbles a terribly flat pass from dummy half by Maloney on his own try line, Scott pilfers it but did he get it down for the try? Video ref… (2H 53:36)
No try, ruled a knock on by Tuivasa-Sheck. The Cowboys can’t take a trick. (2H 53:36)
Another lost opportunity by NQ, the Roosters finally get the ball out to halfway on attack. (2H 55:25)
Tuivasa-Sheck makes a good run to set the Roosters up for the red zone, but Ferguson knocks on 5m out. (2H 57:41)
Maloney waltzes through a big hole in the left side of the Cowboys defence at midfield, he has the fullback to beat and passes to Cordner for his second try. (2H 58:17)
Consecutive sets in the red zone for the Cowboys after a touch and then a penalty, but they still can’t score. (2H 63:07)
A loose pass on the left wing allows Pearce to pick up from defence and have a gallup up the touch line, but he’s caught and eventually Kenny-Dowall knocks on at midfield. (2H 65:27)
More consecutive set for NQ after more penalties. (2H 65:27)
Eventually the Cowboys score through O’Neill on the overlap on the right wing. The home crowd roars, only slightly quieter than usual. (2H 67:19)
Thurston misses with a swinging sideline conversion attempt. (2H 67:19)
Guerra forces a knock on by Hannant with a big shot in midfield. (2H 71:35)
Maloney’s pass to Tupou on the left wing goes forward off Jennings to prevent what might have been another easy try. (2H 73:44)
After another penalty to the Cowboys in the red zone, Thurston’s pass to Winterstein goes over the left sideline. The crowd goes aww. (2H 77:19)
