Round 3 vs. Dragons

[Big Pete]

New Cowboys lineup for Dragons



23/03/2010 12:07:28 PM

Cowboy Steve Rapira has been named in the starting side to play the Dragons this Friday night at WIN Stadium in Wollongong.
North Queensland Toyota Cowboys coach Neil Henry announced his round three team this morning, which sees Steve Southern start on the bench and James Tamou come in as 18th man.
The team departs on Thursday morning after a final training session at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
North Queensland Toyota Cowboys v Dragons
Rd 3, 2010 Telstra Premiership
7.35pm (AEST), Friday 26 March 2010, WIN Stadium
1. Ty Williams
2. John Williams
3. Ashley Graham
4. Willie Tonga
5. Michael Bani
6. Grant Rovelli
7. Johnathan Thurston (c)
8. Matthew Scott
9. Aaron Payne
10. Antonio Kaufusi
11. Scott Bolton
12. Steve Rapira
13. Luke O’Donnell
Interchange:
14. Anthony Watts
15. Steve Southern
16. Willie Mason
17. Carl Webb
18. James Tamou
Coach: Neil Henry


http://www.cowboys.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=23707

 

[Big Pete]

NYC Cowboys v Dragons



23/03/2010 2:23:47 PM

The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys NYC side to play the Dragons has been announced, with Kristian Woolf's boys looking to continue their form into round three.
Currently sitting in second place on the ladder, the Toyota Cup Cowboys will head to Wollongong on Friday with the goal of their first victory at WIN Stadium set firmly in their minds.
North Queensland Toyota Cowboys NYC v Dragons
Rd 3, 2010 Toyota Cup
5.20pm (AEST), Friday 26 March 2010
1. Alex Elisala
2. Kyle Feldt
3. Moses Pangai
4. Will Tupou
5. Steven Eliott
6. Michael Morgan
7. Ray Thompson
8. Sam Hoare
9. James Segeyaro
10. Callum Haywood
11. John Koko
12. Jack Cooper
13. Chris Faust
Interchange:
14. Michael Parker Walshe
15. David Uhi
16. Aidan Day
17. Jason Taumalolo
18. Wayne Ulugia
19. Chris McLean
Coach: Kristian Woolf
http://www.cowboys.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=23717

 

[Big Pete]

The Dragons are the yard stick so far, will be great to see how the boys shape up against them.

 

[StinkyPete]

Hope the boys prove me wrong but I'm tipping Dragons. No way can I rely on that Cowboys backline to cope with Soward's kicking game and Brett Morris's pace.

 

[The Pain Game]

If our defence does its job, and if we pressure Soward's kicking game (as he always gets them out of jail if they make no metres) I am confident that our attack will do the job against the Dragons.

Cooper is back into the team, and poses a real threat, but I wonder how fit he is?

 

[Talanexor]

This worries me. Ty Williams has looked out of his depth at fullback in both games so far. Depth and competition for spots is only beneficial if the players know they will be dropped if the don't perform.

Also, the Panthers barely threw anything at our right side last round. The Dragons will target him like no tomorrow. I'm yet to be convinced his defence is up to scratch.

We NEED to get Gallant in at fullback ASAP. we also need to get Thompson in for Rovelli, and possibly Tupou for Graham. And I don't think Kaufusi has done enough to justify his selection over Tamou.

 

[The Pain Game]

BTW I wonder if Tamou will get a run this week? I don't think anybody done anything wrong last week, and if anything, Scott and LOD were quite for their standards, but they were both injured and players that would not get dropped.

 

[elyod138]

Gallant hasn't impressed in the QLD Cup so far and he didn't even play on the weekend (neither did Malone or Geia), I didn't expect him to be picked.

 

[The Pain Game]

I thought he did not play on the weekend because there was a bye.

 

[elyod138]

I thought he did not play on the weekend because there was a bye.

They didn't play because their game was postponed due to the cyclone.

My point was that they didn't have a chance to impress and force their way into first grade.

 

[elyod138]

I have a feeling that Ray Thompson might come into the team at the last minute.

It's not based on anything more than the fact Rovelli did some shocking things last week, there is an article today saying Thompson is putting pressure on him and the fact that the Toyota cup team has a 6 man bench (that's not that unusual though).

 

[The Pain Game]

Picking him in an away game against the minor premiers of last year is a huge risk; however, in picking Thompson, what do we have to lose?

My only concern is that he will just feed the ball to JT, and we will take a step backwards (as JT is looking more fresh and dominant with less ball). Although Rovelli has butchered a lot of plays, he has the confidence and is entrusted to control the ball and has had time to develop combinations with our outside men. With Thompson, it might be a while before he earns that respect, and it would be a case of him relying on Graham and J Williams to finish off his work.

 

[elyod138]

I think we look pretty sharp at times with Rovelli when he is just feeding the ball onto Thurston but when he has to do something individually he fails more times than he succeeds.

Ray looks a lot more solid to me from what I've seen. Though the NRL is a big step up from the Toyota cup, he didn't look out of place in his debut (I thought he actually looked a lot better than Watts at hooker). He did play a bit of 5/8 then too, it was only for a couple of sets though.

 

[Big Pete]

Yep, I believe by the end of the season Thompson will be the Cows starting five eigth and there won't be any looking back...that's unless Morgan keeps performing the way he does!

Either way, I'm glad to see the side line up the way it has. No need to make any whole sale changes yet and it allows the boys to build on last weeks impressive second half.

 

[elyod138]

Another point on Gallant, if he isn't in form we can't really just give him a run and hope he improves with time; Bowen will possibly be available for selection in a couple of weeks.

 

[StinkyPete]

Another point on Gallant, if he isn't in form we can't really just give him a run and hope he improves with time; Bowen will possibly be available for selection in a couple of weeks.

bowen back round 6 -8

 

[elyod138]

bowen back round 6 -8

Yeah I know, which is why I just made that point.

There is no use throwing Gallant in there for 3 rounds if he isn't even playing well.

If we were the whole season without Bowen you could probably just give Gallant the spot and let him improve with each game because at his best he would be a better option than Ty.

 

[Talanexor]

To be fair to Gallant, he's playing in a team where the main playmaker is a certain Shane Muspratt. Even Slater would struggle to playing off him!

We know what Ty Williams brings, and in all honesty it's not good enough. Give Gallant a couple of weeks running off JT, and I'm confident he'll improve.

 

[Big Pete]

Yes 'improve' just in time to be dropped for Bowen.

Give Williams a break, one more game and if he fails adjust the team accordingly.

 

[Big Pete]

Tonga smashes through try-scoring barrier
ANTONY STEWART
March 23rd, 2010
TRY-scoring machine Willie Tonga is stamping himself as one of the most potent attacking weapons the NRL has seen.
The Cowboys centre extended his stunning run of tries in consecutive games to nine when he scooted across the line in the 60th minute of North Queensland's remarkable come-back win against Penrith.
It has already smashed the club's record, with the previous best being five by Matt Bowen, Paul Bowman and Ty Williams. And to put Tonga's feat further into context, when compared to other noted try-scorers he is almost in a class of his own.
Rhys Wesser, Nathan Merritt, Brett Stewart, Josh Morris and Billy Slater have scored seven times straight, while Nathan Blacklock has a best of six and Wendell Sailor and Israel Folau's run stops at five.
Although NRL records are not compiled on try-scoring streaks, it appears former Sydney Rooster Amos Roberts is the only one who can compare with Tonga in recent years, bagging nine straight between 2005-06.
The 26-year-old was stunned when told of the prestigious company he was bettering and added he wished he didn't know.
''You're starting to put the pressure on me now,'' Tonga laughed.
''It's always good to score tries but I try not to think about it going into games, I just want to play well for the team.
''Hopefully I can keep that winning feeling going.''
But Tonga, whose record try tally for a season is 18 with the Bulldogs in 2004, admits it's an effort he is proud of.
Asked if he could stretch his run into double figures in Friday night's clash with St George Illawarra, the Cherbourg product relied: ''I'm not sure, but I'm feeling good, my body's feeling good and just hopefully the team keeps playing well and the forwards keep doing their job to make it a lot easier for us backs.''
Since joining the Cowboys to reinvigorate his career last season, Tonga has scored 13 times from 20 appearances. The seven-time Australia representative gave plenty of the credit for the streak - which is no doubt being monitored closely by Origin selectors - to the stellar work of his Cowboys teammates.
''Playing outside Johnathan Thurston ... and last year I had Luke O'Donnell inside me and now I've got Scotty Bolton, who's an awesome player as well - it's a lot easier playing outside guys like that,'' he said. ''With their talent it makes my job a lot easier.''
After re-emerging on the representative scene with the Maroons last year, Tonga is without question stating a strong case for re-selection, especially with Justin Hodges on the sideline injured.
He certainly did his case no harm with arguably a points decision over New South Wales and Penrith centre Michael Jennings at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.
But with just two rounds gone and the Cowboys achieving a one-win, one-loss record, Tonga said Origin was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.
''That's way off, anything could happen before then so, to be honest, that's probably the last thing that I'm going to be thinking about at this stage,'' he said. ''For now, it's all about the Cowboys and for us to do well.''

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2010/03/23/124685_cowboys.html