Round 8 (v Rabbitohs) Teams & Stories

[Granty]

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys (NYC) v Souths

Round 8 Toyota Cup
12.45pm, Sunday 4 May 2008
ANZ Stadium

Cowboys

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

Interchange

Tom Humble
Chris Riesen
Nathan Barraclough
Josh Land

Coach: Grant Bell


Rabbitohs

1 Luke Capewell
2 Sam Huihahau
3 Junior Seumanutafa
4 BJ Nathan
5 Michael Cummins
6 Eddie Paea
7 Chris Sandow
8 John Kaifoto
9 Trent Trotter
10 Brad Lupi
11 Aaron Hammett
12 Dave Tyrrell
13 Jason Clarke (c)

Interchange

14 Brock Molan
15 Jake Leary
16 Joey Matapuku
17 Rob Talai
18 Mitch Williams

[Stido]

I thought Ray Thompsom was out injured?

[Granty]

Must not of been as bad as they originally thought.

Curious that Sam Bowie isn't there - I know he got dropped last week for being late to training, but I'd expected him to be back in this week.

[Stido]

Maybe a bit of a tougher lesson for Sam this time Granty?

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/05/03/12774_cowboys.html

Injuries hurt Cowboys' under-20s

JOSH ALSTON

03May08

INJURIES have rocked the Cowboys under-20 side ahead of their clash with South Sydney on Sunday.

Centre Tyson Martin and halfback Ray Thompson are both extremely unlikely to play after suffering ankle injuries in last week's loss to the Storm.

Both have managed to train this week but coach Grant Bell conceded they were almost certainly out of the clash with replacements to be named at training today.

In further bad news, forward Leo Faagutu re-injured the ankle he hurt in round one when he returned to the TDRL last weekend.

Captain Ryan Carr said the loss of Thompson especially would hurt the fledgling team which is trying to develop combinations in its debut season.

"I think combinations across the park are important in any position, halves especially," he said.

"But I think they've been going pretty well, they're getting better as the season goes on, they've been clicking.

"I think they're just learning really well and they've started to play some real good footy in the last few weeks, our halves especially."

Despite being unable to snare a win from their seven games so far this season, Carr said the players remained optimistic about turning their season around.

The Cowboys have played two draws and had victory snatched from them in the final minute against the Dragons.

"We're all just staying together as a team and working hard for that win," Carr said.

"We're just working hard at training and in our games.

"I think we've been trying hard but we've been a bit unlucky in a few of our games and soon enough we should get a bit of luck and things will go our way.

"But definitely we're optimistic and there's no frustration."

South Sydney will be bolstered by the addition of dumped first-grader Eddie Paea who will line up in the Toyota Cup as halfback.

"Eddie's a good player, obviously he's played NRL which is a big ask of him," Carr said.

"He's definitely one to watch but we're concentrating on our game."

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/05/05/12786_sport.html

Young Cowboys run ragged by rampaging Bunnies

JOSH ALSTON

05May08

A BELOW-strength Cowboys outfit was put to the sword by the Rabbitohs in the Toyota Cup clash at ANZ Stadium yesterday, the home side running out easy 40-10 winners.

North Queensland entered the game without halfback Ray Thompson and centre Tyson Martin who are both struggling to recover from ankle injuries.

South Sydney took full advantage of the disorganisation in the Cowboys' line-up, racing in three early tries with fullback Luke Capewell notching up a double in under 16 minutes of football.

Steven Beaumont managed to drag the Cowboys back into the contest with his 22nd-minute try but from there it was one-way traffic as the Bunnies piled on a further five tries to entrench themselves in the National Youth Competition top eight.

Coach Grant Bell conceded the loss was the result of a disrupted week which saw Thompson ruled out and Herbert River Crushers halfback Darren Tonihi called up to the side with Sam Bowie recalled after missing last week for disciplinary reasons.

"It certainly wasn't a good performance and obviously we're disappointed with the outcome," Bell said.

"There's no doubt that we came into the game unsettled with some injuries and a disrupted preparation.

"But at the end of the day that's part and parcel of the game and you've got to manage that, work with that and come out the other side. "We didn't do that as well as we would have liked today."

Bell will continue to monitor the progress of Thompson and Martin this week but would not rule out changes to a team that has yet to win a game in its debut season.

"We won't pick teams today," he said

"We'll see how the injuries go as we get into the week and we'll make some decisions on the make-up after that.

"It will be back to business as usual and we'll work on the areas where we didn't perform as well and get ourselves ready for our game against Cronulla."