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WESTS TIGERS BEAT COWBOYS 26-16 IN NRL
By Wayne Cousins
19/07/2010 8:56:12 PM
Wests Tigers recorded a spirited 26-16 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys tonight at Leichhardt Oval in round 19 of the Telstra Premiership.
In a thrilling match played in cold conditions in front of a crowd of 11, 364, Wests Tigers had to dig deep in the second half to record a vital victory to remain in third place on the ladder.
In team changes, Geoff Daniela moved from the wing to the centre to replace Chris Lawrence. Mitch Brown came into the starting team to replace Daniela on the wing.
Lawrence moved to five-eighth with Benji Marshall shifting from five-eighth to half-back.
Experienced prop John Skandalis played his first game in the NRL this season off the interchange bench. It was Skandalis’ 181st game for Wests Tigers. Gareth Ellis did nmot play.
Video referee Phil Cooley was called upon in the fourth minute to rule whether winger Ashley Graham was on side from a crossfield kick by half-back Johnathan Thurston. The try was awarded much to the boos of the Leichhardt Oval faithful.
Thurston failed to convert from the sideline for a 4-0 scoreline after six minutes.
Two minutes later Wests Tigers winger Lote Tuqiri got the crowd on its feet with a tremendous run down the hill side. It led to a subsequent penalty with half-back Benji Marshall going close to scoring in the ensuring set.
Wests Tigers got another penalty in that set and looked dangerous before winger Mitch Brown was taken into touch by Thurston just metres from the tryline.
Cooley was called on for the second time in the 14th minute to rule whether second-rower Todd Payten had clearly grounded the ball from a grubber kick by Robbie Farah. It was ruled no try.
It was the same again for Cooley in the 17th minute when referee Shayne Hayne asked him to rule on a try to Cowboys full-back Matt Bowen after second-rower Scott Bolton ran into Marshall before Bowen scored. It was rule no try.
Tuqiri has proven a real handful with his barnstorming runs in the opening 20 minutes, causing plenty of havoc for the Cowboys defence.
The Cowboys extended their lead to 8-0 when Bowen drew in a defender to send Ben Harris over for a soft try in the 24th minute. Thurston converted the try for a 10-0 lead after 26 minutes.
It became 14-0 when former Wests Tigers back Arana Taumata stepped past the attempted tackle of centre Blake Ayshford to race 50 metres to score. Thurston converted the try for a 16-0 lead after 29 minutes.
Wests Tigers finally converted one of their tryscoring opportunities in the 36th minute when quick hands by Marshall, full-back Wade McKinnon and Ayshford saw Tuqiri dive over in the corner for his 10th try in 17 games this season. Marshall failed to convert from the sideline for a 16-4 scoreline.
Tuqiri almost laid on the Wests Tigers second try when on the last tackle and in broken play, he put through a kick only to see the ball beat Marshall to the dead ball line.
The score remained 16-4 at half-time. The half-time stats showed Wests Tigers completed 14/18 sets compared to the Cowboys’ 12/15\. Wests Tigers missed 17 tackles compared to the Cowboys 13.
2nd Half
Wests Tigers got back to 16-8 in the 45th minute when the ball was spread far right through Farah and Marshall before second-rower Liam Fulton beat a defender to offload a pass to winger Mitch Brown. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Cooley was again called on in the 48th minute to rule whether Ayshford had managed to get the ball over the line out wide despite the tackle of Graham. The try was awarded for a 16-12 scoreline. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Some individual brilliance by Marshall saw Wests Tigers level the scores at 16-16 in the 55th minute. Marshall chip kicked over the Cowboys defence from 45 metres out before regathering the ball. He then ran acrossfield to throw a long cut out pass for Tuqiri to dive over in the corner.
In the 74th minute, Farah throws a pass from dummy half to Marshall whose field goal attempt from 15 metres out misses from almost in front.
Three minutes later, Wests Tigers second-rower Liam Fulton races 45 metres downfield to outsprint the cover defence to brush off Bowen to score out wide. Marshall converted his first goal for a 22-16 scoreline.
A minute from full-time, a Cowboys drop ball is picked up by Fulton 30 metres out from his own line. He offloads to Marshall who races up the middle of the field to outsprint the defence to salute the crowd as he scores to secure a hard fought victory. Marshall failed to convert his own try but Wests Tigers get home 26-16.
By Wayne Cousins
19/07/2010 8:56:12 PM
Wests Tigers recorded a spirited 26-16 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys tonight at Leichhardt Oval in round 19 of the Telstra Premiership.
In a thrilling match played in cold conditions in front of a crowd of 11, 364, Wests Tigers had to dig deep in the second half to record a vital victory to remain in third place on the ladder.
In team changes, Geoff Daniela moved from the wing to the centre to replace Chris Lawrence. Mitch Brown came into the starting team to replace Daniela on the wing.
Lawrence moved to five-eighth with Benji Marshall shifting from five-eighth to half-back.
Experienced prop John Skandalis played his first game in the NRL this season off the interchange bench. It was Skandalis’ 181st game for Wests Tigers. Gareth Ellis did nmot play.
Video referee Phil Cooley was called upon in the fourth minute to rule whether winger Ashley Graham was on side from a crossfield kick by half-back Johnathan Thurston. The try was awarded much to the boos of the Leichhardt Oval faithful.
Thurston failed to convert from the sideline for a 4-0 scoreline after six minutes.
Two minutes later Wests Tigers winger Lote Tuqiri got the crowd on its feet with a tremendous run down the hill side. It led to a subsequent penalty with half-back Benji Marshall going close to scoring in the ensuring set.
Wests Tigers got another penalty in that set and looked dangerous before winger Mitch Brown was taken into touch by Thurston just metres from the tryline.
Cooley was called on for the second time in the 14th minute to rule whether second-rower Todd Payten had clearly grounded the ball from a grubber kick by Robbie Farah. It was ruled no try.
It was the same again for Cooley in the 17th minute when referee Shayne Hayne asked him to rule on a try to Cowboys full-back Matt Bowen after second-rower Scott Bolton ran into Marshall before Bowen scored. It was rule no try.
Tuqiri has proven a real handful with his barnstorming runs in the opening 20 minutes, causing plenty of havoc for the Cowboys defence.
The Cowboys extended their lead to 8-0 when Bowen drew in a defender to send Ben Harris over for a soft try in the 24th minute. Thurston converted the try for a 10-0 lead after 26 minutes.
It became 14-0 when former Wests Tigers back Arana Taumata stepped past the attempted tackle of centre Blake Ayshford to race 50 metres to score. Thurston converted the try for a 16-0 lead after 29 minutes.
Wests Tigers finally converted one of their tryscoring opportunities in the 36th minute when quick hands by Marshall, full-back Wade McKinnon and Ayshford saw Tuqiri dive over in the corner for his 10th try in 17 games this season. Marshall failed to convert from the sideline for a 16-4 scoreline.
Tuqiri almost laid on the Wests Tigers second try when on the last tackle and in broken play, he put through a kick only to see the ball beat Marshall to the dead ball line.
The score remained 16-4 at half-time. The half-time stats showed Wests Tigers completed 14/18 sets compared to the Cowboys’ 12/15\. Wests Tigers missed 17 tackles compared to the Cowboys 13.
2nd Half
Wests Tigers got back to 16-8 in the 45th minute when the ball was spread far right through Farah and Marshall before second-rower Liam Fulton beat a defender to offload a pass to winger Mitch Brown. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Cooley was again called on in the 48th minute to rule whether Ayshford had managed to get the ball over the line out wide despite the tackle of Graham. The try was awarded for a 16-12 scoreline. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Some individual brilliance by Marshall saw Wests Tigers level the scores at 16-16 in the 55th minute. Marshall chip kicked over the Cowboys defence from 45 metres out before regathering the ball. He then ran acrossfield to throw a long cut out pass for Tuqiri to dive over in the corner.
In the 74th minute, Farah throws a pass from dummy half to Marshall whose field goal attempt from 15 metres out misses from almost in front.
Three minutes later, Wests Tigers second-rower Liam Fulton races 45 metres downfield to outsprint the cover defence to brush off Bowen to score out wide. Marshall converted his first goal for a 22-16 scoreline.
A minute from full-time, a Cowboys drop ball is picked up by Fulton 30 metres out from his own line. He offloads to Marshall who races up the middle of the field to outsprint the defence to salute the crowd as he scores to secure a hard fought victory. Marshall failed to convert his own try but Wests Tigers get home 26-16.