Saturday, July 17, 2004
Cowboys outgun Eels
Just as the Eels got their finals campaign by on track with a win over the Roosters, it has run off the rails again with the North Queensland Cowboys tonight defeating Parramatta by by 28 points to six.
The early minutes looked like Parramatta were in for a romp. They spread the ball early on their first set of six and Luke Burt broke the line. That put the Eels onto the attack and it wasn't long after that the Eels went in for their first try when Wade McKinnon sent a sharp cutout pass to Matt Peterson, who crossed over in the corner. Michael Witt kicked a superb conversion and the night was looking promising for the Eels.
However, the Cowboys slowly started to recover from their poor start. Ashley Graham spilt a kick over the top which landed back in the hands of the Cowboys and Ty Williams went over for a try.
Then monster prop Shane Tronc who troubled the Eels forwards all game, barged over under the posts and suddenly the Eels were down 12 to six. Another two points from a penalty goal gave the Cowboys a 14 to six lead.
The second half was nothing more than an exercise in frustration for the Eels. Nothing went right for them and more and more errors and penalties crept into their games. John Morris was benched after having a shocker, and even Nathan Hindmarsh got time on the sideline after he dropped a simple ball, from what looked like sheer exhaustion.
The Cowboys put on two more tries in the second half and the Eels never looked like pegging back the home team. It was a bitterly dissapointing performance from the Eels who will now find it almost impossible to make the eight. Lee Hopkins had a stand out game for the Eels.
The early minutes looked like Parramatta were in for a romp. They spread the ball early on their first set of six and Luke Burt broke the line. That put the Eels onto the attack and it wasn't long after that the Eels went in for their first try when Wade McKinnon sent a sharp cutout pass to Matt Peterson, who crossed over in the corner. Michael Witt kicked a superb conversion and the night was looking promising for the Eels.
However, the Cowboys slowly started to recover from their poor start. Ashley Graham spilt a kick over the top which landed back in the hands of the Cowboys and Ty Williams went over for a try.
Then monster prop Shane Tronc who troubled the Eels forwards all game, barged over under the posts and suddenly the Eels were down 12 to six. Another two points from a penalty goal gave the Cowboys a 14 to six lead.
The second half was nothing more than an exercise in frustration for the Eels. Nothing went right for them and more and more errors and penalties crept into their games. John Morris was benched after having a shocker, and even Nathan Hindmarsh got time on the sideline after he dropped a simple ball, from what looked like sheer exhaustion.
The Cowboys put on two more tries in the second half and the Eels never looked like pegging back the home team. It was a bitterly dissapointing performance from the Eels who will now find it almost impossible to make the eight. Lee Hopkins had a stand out game for the Eels.
