Nights like tonight make one proud to be a North Queensland supporter.
There is only one thing a supporter asks of his team, and that is a hundred per cent effort and willingness to dig in for your teammates. That is exactly what we got from the NQ boys tonight. It wasn't pretty at any point, the execution was poor and some of the boys took some lousy options. But all those specifics are out the window now because at no point in the game did the Cowboys give up or stop going hard. For mine this is one of the great wins, because the attitude shown by the boys tonight I've not seen when Thurston has been absent previously.
Strange as it may seem given the amount of missed tackles we had, but the win was truly built on defense. Certainly not defending the middle of the park mind you, but on the goal line and in desperate situations the important tackles were made. DJ was foremost in this regard, often making the last ditch effort. Most of the forwards backed him right up but I'd like to make particular note of Will Tupou's effort on the fringes. Cowboys fans have been critical of his defensive efforts in the past but tonight he played with real energy. Tonga has real pressure on his spot now given his headspace, and that is healthy for the club.
None of the forwards shirked the work. I've said it before, our wins are built on the foundation our pack provides. We're not a flashy side at all. The forwards like to trundle it up and there is very little movement of the ball. Nothing pretty about it whatsoever but the game tonight called for that style of play and the boys kept cool heads throughout. I'm reluctant to single any one out as it was a real team effort without any weak links. Long may we continue with this approach, it is the strong suit for our side.
Man of the Match for mine tonight was Ashley Graham. Some fellow NQ supporters will know I've been sharply critical of him in the past, but he's making me eat my words at present. Tonight was the culmination of a really good season from the fella. He injected extra energy into efforts to get out of our half, and the metres proved invaluable. He's choosing wisely also, demonstrating his experience and growing in confidence. This is probably also the reason he's cut so much of the errors out of his game as well. Very glad to be proven wrong and happy to eat humble pie tonight.
This whole season has been a continual test of the attitude within the club. Supporters have not been looking for a technically brilliant side. Just one that cut the shit out of their game and a willingness t play for one another. Each hurdle has been successfully jumped on the journey so far, and tonight was the biggest test without JT. The boys have passed with flying colours. If we see efforts like that over the next six weeks we'll have a bunch of supporters that will be positively beside themselves with joy.
