North Queensland Cowboys sink Cronulla-Sutherland in try-fest
Sebastian Tan
Scott Drinkwater put aside rumors about his future in North Queensland to lead the Cowboys to a 46-34 trial victory over Cronulla.
Despite being contracted until the end of 2027, there was speculation the full-back could move to St George Illawarra at the end of the season.
But the 28-year-old looked set to score goals for the Cowboys, recording a try, three try assists, a crucial 40/20 and seven tackle failures at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Friday.
His efforts helped North Queensland bounce back from last Thursday’s 38-6 thrashing of Manly in what coach Todd Payten described as a steady performance.
“I gave them a few extra days off, which goes against my natural instincts,” Payten said after Friday’s win.
“But I’ve just seen the smoke in the gas tank go down. The players have responded, looked after themselves and come out to train… It’s pleasing to win five of the last six games and put us in a good position going forward.”
Back-rower Jeremiah Nanai returned from shoulder reconstruction surgery, but winger Murray Taulagi capped his return by netting a hat-trick and scoring three goals for the home side despite leaving the field early with a concussion.
Payten expects Taulagi, who suffered a similar head injury in round six against the Broncos, to miss a few weeks.
The Sharks were boosted by the return of co-captain Cameron McInnes (ACL), but their leaky defense proved costly.
“We need an attitude check to understand the importance of being important, playing together and working hard together,” coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
“I don’t really want to give kids an excuse or take anything positive out of it.”
Full-back Will Kennedy was typically busy (150 metres, five tackles), while Nicho Hynes was instrumental with three try assists and two line breaks.
It took less than four minutes for the Cowboys to open the scoring when Drinkwater charged, but Siosifa Talakai crossed to help the visitors equalise.
North Queensland hit back with Taulagi scoring through a Toby Rudolf error as Talakai took second from the silky hands of his team-mates a few minutes later.
Taulagi crossed the line again before Reed Mahoney and Braidon Burns rewarded the home side’s energetic pace to take a 26-12 lead at half-time.
There was a glimmer of hope for the Sharks when Oregon Kaufusi laid the ball off to Blayke Brailey, who went down, but Taulagi scored a third try to increase the Cowboys’ advantage.
Cronulla got back into the contest when Soni Luke ran in to open an eight-point cushion in the 66th minute and KL Iro added a double.
After Drinkwater’s 40/20 Tom Dearden joined in the fun by skating to score before Iro and Heilum Luki crossed late on.
AAP
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