The North Queensland Cowboys kept their finals hopes alive with a comprehensive 34-10 win over The Dolphins on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Result
North Queensland 34
Tries: (6) Zac Laybutt 10th, 35th; Kyle Feldt 15th; Scott Drinkwater 17th; Murray Taulagi 55th; Peter Hiku 65th
Goals: (5) Scott Drinkwater 11th, 16th, 18th, 36th, 67th
The Dolphins 10
Tries: (2) Jamayne Isaako 62nd, 72nd
Goals: (1) Jamayne Isaako 64th
Report
The final Queensland derby for 2023 started out as a bit of an arm wrestle; perhaps the players were taken aback by the Dolphins’ new black and red jersey, which was simply magnificent.
The first score of the game came in the 10th minute through Zac Laybutt, who was the recipient of a spilled bomb by Jamayne Isaako. It was the Cowboys centre’s first ever NRL try in his third match. And North Queensland doubled down five minutes on the other side of the field through Kyle Feldt, with Scott Drinkwater landing his second sideline conversion of the night to make it 12-0.
A few minutes later the Cowboys extended their lead with a try that started in their own half. Tom Dearden threw a beautiful cut-out pass to Murray Taulagi, who flew down the wing and found Scott Drinkwater on the inside, who scored under the posts. It was point-a-minute for the Cowboys and the Dolphins looked shocked.
More woe for the Dolphins came in the 26th minute when Josh Kerr was sin-binned for a hip drop tackle that left Murray Taulagi a bit sore but on the field. A few minutes later the Cowboys should have punished the Dolphins – but Drinkwater dropped a pass two metres from the line with no one in front of him.
The Dolphins had more bad news to deal with a few minutes later, when Isaako when taken from the field for a HIA, caused by being taken out attempting to catch a bomb. Laybutt was put on report but not sin-binned. Not long after that Laybutt had scored his second try of the match as he sliced through the Dolphins’ defence from 20 metres out, with Scott Drinkwater providing the final pass and the conversion to make it 24-0. Isaako did return for the second half.
North Queensland should have scored with their first set of the second half, but for the second time in the game they bombed a certain try, when Feldt attempted a Benji Marshall-style pass without the flair or success.
The Dolphins started to get into the game more as the second half processed, and it was no coincidence it was on the back of Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow being able to get more involved. His return to fullback has been long overdue. No only in attack, but he was on hand to halt a number of Cowboys half chances in the second half.
North Queensland’s continued pressured was eventually too much in the 55th when Murray Taulagi finished off a play to the left, with the cut-out final pass thrown by Dearden just floated enough to beat the Dolphins intercept attempt. The conversion missed, but the score was still 28-0.
Some joy for the Dolphins finally arrived in the 62nd minute when Isaako continued his try scoring ways for 2023 with a run that sliced through the Cowboys for 20 metres, with the final pass coming from Kodi Nikorima, who was excellent in attack playing five eighth. The try put Isaako on top of the leading try scorers for the season, and the conversion made the score 28-6.
That joy didn’t last long: within minutes North Queensland had scored again, with Kulikefu Finefeuiaki setting up Peter Hiku with a great run and final pass close to the line. They try was converted by Drinkwater, and also meant that all Cowboys from numbers 1 to 5 had scored a try.
Isaako extended his lead at the top of the try scoring charts to two tries with his second try of the evening in the 72nd minute, being too quick down the wing after a Tabuai-Fidow cut-out pass. The final try of the match meant that the second half was 10-10, as the Dolphins competed much better but ultimately fell short of a much better Cowboys side on the night 34-10.
The win keeps the finals hopes alive for the Cowboys, and the manner of the victory should build some confidence heading into the final weekend of the regular season and beyond if they’re lucky. They won comfortably and could have won by a lot more if not for a number of bombed tries.
For the Dolphins, the new jersey looks good.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Tom Dearden (Cowboys)
2 – Scott Drinkwater (Cowboys)
1 – Reuben Cotter (Cowboys)
