Round 7 (v Storm) - Teams & Stories

[Granty]

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys (NYC) v Melbourne Storm

Round 7 Toyota Cup,
5.15pm, Saturday 26 April 2008,
Dairy Farmers Stadium

NQ Cowboys

Ben Henaway
Obe Geia
Brandon Boor
Tyson Martin
Steven Beaumont
Brady Payne
Ray Thompson
Shaun Maloney
Ryan Carr (c)
Josh Land
Blayne Harling
Chris Faust
Nick Slyney

Interchange

Tom Humble
Chris Riesen
Nathan Barraclough
Daniel Vineula


Melbourne Storm

Michael Faamausili
Malo Feterika
Sam Joe
Joseph Tomane
Mack Fawcett
Luke Kelly
Liam Foran
Vili Faingaa
Jay Aston
Louis Fanene
Kevin Proctor
Lucas Miller (c)
Will Naitoro

Interchange

Zeb Tawha
Pulou Vaituutuu
Ryan Hansen
Matt Croker
James Woolford
Russell Webber

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/04/26/12565_cowboys.html

Under-20 Cowboys eye win at home

JOSH ALSTON

26Apr08

THE Cowboys will use their dramatic last-gasp draw against the Warriors last weekend as motivation tonight as they continue to search for their first win in the under-20 National Youth Competition.

North Queensland stormed home to secure the draw with three tries in 12 minutes after they looked dead in the water trailing 24-6.

Coach Grant Bell said his charges would be looking to employ the same fighting spirit against Melbourne at Dairy Farmers Stadium tonight.

"They showed (last week) they were prepared to dig in hard and put themselves in a position where they could challenge for a result in the game," he said.

"In the end we came up with half the money but they had to work very hard to achieve that and I think that's full credit to them.

"They'll be coming out with the plan to give their best effort and play the best they can and seek a result."

The Cowboys have yet to win a game but have managed to snare two vital competition points through draws with the Warriors and Parramatta.

They were also unlucky to lose in Wollongong two weeks ago when the Dragons scored in the final minute to win 20-18.

Bell said his young players had shown vast improvement since they were heavily belted in their opening three games and a win would not be too far away.

And they will have a good chance tonight against a Storm outfit that has also struggled in 2008 with only two wins and a draw from their six games.

"There's a fair bit in it in terms of winning a game of footy for the guys," he said.

"Yes it's frustrating because the guys would dearly love a win but I think there's a lot of hard work that goes into a consistently winning football team – these guys are improving every week.

"I think they're all feeling still that our game's improving, we're getting closer to it and it's a matter of working hard in the game.

"That's what it's all about."

[#CowboyDavid]

Half time:

Melbourne 14

Cowboys 10

[#CowboyDavid]

Full Time:

Melbourne 36

Cowboys 18

[Granty]

From the post game presentations at the Cowboys Leagues Club

Cowboys U20's Man of the Match went to Brandon Boor
player profile --> http://www.cowboys.com.au/players.php?comp=TOYOTA CUP 2008&id=88

[Granty]

From the post game presentations at the Cowboys Leagues Club

Cowboys U20's Man of the Match went to Brandon Boor
http://www.cowboys.com.au/players.php?comp=TOYOTA CUP 2008&id=88

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/04/28/12599_cowboys.html

Injuries to test depth of battling Cowboys under-20s

JOSH ALSTON
28Apr08

THE Cowboys under-20s' depth could be sorely tested in the coming weeks following injuries to halfback Ray Thompson and centre Tyson Martin in their 36-18 loss to Melbourne on Saturday night.

Both players will have scans on suspected ankle injuries over the next two days to determine the extent of the damage.

Thompson limped from the field in the 21st minute after rolling his ankle and could play no further part in the game while Martin was cut down by an ugly late shot from Melbourne captain Lucas Miller in the dying minutes of the contest.

The Cowboys were still well in the contest before the loss of Thompson and managed to take the lead in the 39th minute when Tom Humble crashed over under the posts. But they were unable to hold off the fast-finishing Storm outfit in the second half.

Coach Grant Bell said Thompson's injury was not responsible for the loss but it didn't help the fledgling club which is still trying to build combinations.

"We're not a side that probably manages at the moment being unsettled like that," he said.

"It was a challenge for us to do that and it certainly caused some position (changes) around our interchange but it wasn't responsible for the result, it didn't allow us to be settled for a while.

"I think we've been improving each week and we've added things to our game but tonight we came up against a side that was very determined and played well against us."

Miller was placed on report for his hit on Martin that was reminiscent of Riley Brown's shot on South Sydney's Craig Wing. And Bell said he would be reviewing the video footage of the tackle which he described as `unnecessary'.

"Without going too far into it I'm not certain it was necessary," he said.

"Obviously the match officials saw something that they thought was unnecessary too and they're going to have another look at it as well."

[Granty]

http://www.cowboys.com.au/news.php?id=408

Storm too strong for Toyota Cup Cowboys

28 Apr 2008

http://www.cowboys.com.au/images/MATCH%20REVIEW.jpg

A try on the stroke of half time gave the Melbourne Storm the upper hand in the Toyota Cup clash, as they went on to inflict a 36-18 defeat on the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys.

The young Cowboys scored first with Ben Henaway scoring virtually the first time he touched the ball.

The second half, however, saw Melbourne capitalise on a glut of possession to run away with the game, despite the Cowboys courageous attempts to reel them back in.

Melbourne Storm 36 (Louis Fanene, Luke Kelly, Vili Fainga’a, Kevin Proctor, Zeb Tawha, Joseph Tamane tries; Liam Foran 5 goals) d North Queensland Toyota Cowboys 18 (Ben Henaway, Tom Humble, Obe Geia, Steven Beaumont tries; Steven Beaumont 1 goal)