The North Queensland Cowboys were able to fight off another valiant Titans effort, as a monster effort from Coen Hess carried them to a 32-26 victory.
Young Monster
He is only 13 games into his NRL career, yet young Cowboys back rower Coen Hess has already cemented himself as an absolute monster, scoring 2 identical tries to give his side the upper hand against the Titans. The 20 year-old carried multiple defenders over the line in both of his four pointers, taking his tally to an impressive 9 tries from 13 NRL games. Hess finished the match with 108 metres, 2 tries and 2 line breaks.
Titans Start Slow Again
It’s been the story of their season so far, and the Titans once again found themselves chasing the lead due to a poor start against the Cowboys. They’ve chased deficits of 28-0, 12-0 and 12-0 in their opening matches, yet clearly failed to learn from the past as they let the Cowboys claim a 10-0 lead early. As usual the Titans fought back to claim a 12-10 lead at one point, however their early deficit proved costly as they lost the match by 6 points.
Roberts Versatility Shines
Tyrone Roberts was expected to spend this season as a utility impact bench player, however his versatility has seen him shine in several positions on the park due to the Titans injury crisis. Roberts was named at hooker for the clash, yet was moved to fullback pre-game, and he once again played strongly in an unfamiliar role. Roberts gave the Titans the lead when he threw a great pass to Leivaha Pulu before looming up in support to catch an offload and cross the line. He later threw a clever long ball to cousin Tyrone Roberts-Davis, sending the winger over in the corner. Roberts versatility could cost him a starting spot when some injured Titans return, however he has shown that he is an integral part of the team.
New Scorers
Saturday’s game saw two Cowboys cross for their first NRL tries, while their opponents had two faces score their first tries for the club. Gun fullback Kalyn Ponga has lived up to the hype since making his NRL debut in the finals last year, and it took just 4 games to wait before he scored his first try against the Titans on Saturday night. Fellow rookie Gideon Gela-Mosby has also been highlighted as one to look out for, and he got his NRL career off to a brilliant start by bursting past several Titans to score on debut. For the Titans, recruit Dale Copley made a strong new impression after joining the club just over a week earlier, as he crossed for a double out wide. Former Broncos winger Daniel Vidot was also able to claim a try in his first game for the Titans.
Scoreboard
North Queensland Cowboys 32
Tries: Ponga, Gela-Mosby, Hess (2), Thurston
Goals: Thurston 4/5
Gold Coast Titans 26
Tries: Copley 2, Roberts-Davis, Roberts, Vidot
Goals: Taylor 3/5
