Cowboys whip Broncos
Updated
Half-back Johnathan Thurston starred as the North Queensland Cowboys thrashed the Brisbane Broncos 36-4 in their first round National Rugby League match at Lang Park in Brisbane today.
Thurston was unstoppable for last season's beaten grand finalists, scoring three tries and kicking six goals for a personal haul of 24 points.
It was Brisbane's eighth straight defeat after their run of seven losses at the end of last season, and no doubt will increase the pressure on long-term coach Wayne Bennet.
It was only the Cowboys' second victory over the Broncos in 20 meetings.
Thurston attributed the victory to a strong defensive game.
"We got on top of them early, and ball control as well, but the pleasing thing to come out of it was our defence," he said.
Thurston also praised the effort of the North Queensland forwards.
"They got on top of them early and it set the game up for us. It's always good when you've got a forward pack going forward and they did the job for us."
One-way traffic
An early knock-on from Broncos full-back Karmichael Hunt gifted the Cowboys their first scoring opportunity, and the visitors grabbed it with both hands.
A flick pass from Brett Firman found Matt Sing, and the winger squeezed through a tackle to score in the eighth minute.
The Cowboys continued the attacking raid from the kick-off, Aaron Payne bursting out of dummy-half with support from Thurston.
Matt Bowen provided the back-up and ran 45 metres to score under the posts.
Payne continued to cause trouble for the Broncos, a second break setting up a try for Thurston under the posts.
Thurston converted his own try and suddenly the Cowboys were scoring at a point a minute - up 18-0 after 17 minutes.
A penalty goal to Thurston in the 25th minute extended North Queensland's advantage to 20 points, and the game already looked out of Brisbane's reach.
A further two penalties against the Broncos allowed Thurston to exploit the home side's blindside defence, and the number seven was rewarded with his second try in the 32nd minute.
The conversion was unsuccessful, and the Cowboys led 24-0 at the half-time break.
The Broncos tightened their defence somewhat in the second half, but the Cowboys still found a way through - Neil Sweeney crashing over just 10 minutes after the resumption.
But it was Thurston who continued to cause the Broncos trouble.
His third try in the 60th minute, followed by his conversion, lifted his personal points tally to an impressive 24.
The Broncos finally puts some points on the board through a try to 18-year-old debutant Darius Boyd in the 65th minute, but it was too little too late.
Topics: rugby-league, brisbane-4000, townsville-4810
First posted
