Cowboys NYC v Pride, 21 Feb

[Granty]

http://www.cowboys.com.au/news.php?id=730&page=1

Cowboys NYC v Pride, 21 Feb

18 Feb 2009

http://www.cowboys.com.au/Uploads/Latest%20News/Templates/toyota-cup_temp.jpg

While the Cowboys' first grade squad take on the Warriors in New Zealand this weekend, the Toyota Cup team will play a trial against the Northern Pride this Saturday night in Atherton.

:: Meet your 2009 Cowboys Toyota Cup team (http://www.cowboys.com.au/players.php?comp=Toyota%20Cup%202009) ::

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North Queensland Toyota Cowboys v Northern Pride
7pm, Saturday 21 February 2009, Atherton

Team: Sam Bowie, Mitch Zornig, Steve Eliott, Moses Pangai, Chippie Korostchuck, Ben Cronin, Ray Thompson, Dane Hogan, Michael Morgan, Dylan Smith, Troyden Watene, Chris Faust, Tyson Martin

Interchange: James Segeyaro, Ryan Mahoney, Aiden Day, Ben Morgan, John Koko, Jared Huston, Ben Henaway, Jared Cockburn, Wayne Ulugia

Coach: Kristian Woolf

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/02/19/39971_sport.html

Thompson returns to boost young Cowboys

JOSH ALSTON

February 19th, 2009

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2009/02/18/Under-20-Cowboys.jpg
HOOKERS AND HALVES ... Michael Morgan and Ray Thompson
at under-20s training

THE COWBOYS under-20s have received a timely boost ahead of their first hitout of the pre-season this weekend with halfback Ray Thompson set to take his place in the team.

The Centrals junior has been restricted in recent weeks with a groin strain but will be a certain starter against the Northern Pride on Saturday night.

"He had a minor groin concern and it was more of a precaution at this time of year to keep him out of things a little bit," coach Kristian Woolf said.

"But he's looking pretty good and he'll probably have a run."

The trial will serve as a chance for Woolf to trial a number of options in the halves as well as in the hooker role, with a number of players vying for spots in round one.

Former Sydney Rooster Ben Cronin will line up with Thompson in the halves for the first time while Woolf will also trial hooker Michael Morgan in the playmaking role.

He has also named a nine-man bench to experiment in positions across the park.

"It will give (the halves) time together as well as time with our hookers," he said.

"Michael Morgan will also play some time in the halves and we'll give guys a run in different positions and try a few different things.

"With the trials falling through over the weekend we've only got two and we really want to use them to watch the guys we don't know much about, to see how they play at the next level.

"So we'll take an extended bench and give a few guys the opportunity to see what they can do."

Also named in the team are a number of young faces including 16-year-old Moses Pangai who was named in a preliminary Cowboys team to play in Mackay last weekend before that trial was scrapped.

Woolf said it would be an ideal hitout for Pangai and the other young faces who will likely play in the new State competition for Townsville this season.

"We're looking forward to seeing him have a run. And there's a couple of other blokes who are only 17 so it's a fairly young squad," he said.

"There's Moses, Johnny Koco, Wayne Alugia and Morgan who are all at school. It will be interesting to see how they handle the step up – they will play in the Townsville (Stingers) 18s squad this year."

Woolf has been impressed with the boys' efforts in his first pre-season at the helm of the under-20s and pointed to the halves as a sign of good things to come.

"A lot of guys have put their hand up in the pre-season and, even though he's been injured, Ray has been terrific and so too has Ben Cronin," he said.

"Steve Elliot, Chris Faust, Troyden Watene and Tyson Martin have also been good. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

"We have Ray there again and it it is vital we get right combinations of whoever plays as hooker and in the halves – they're crucial positions."

[Granty]

http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/02/22/29931_local-sport-news.html

Pride on winning streak

Emma Greenwood
Sunday, February 22, 2009

© The Cairns Post

THE Northern Pride have continued their winning start to the pre-season, notching a 26-16 trial win against the Cowboys under-20s at Atherton on Saturday night.

The Pride impressed early, racing to a 16-0 halftime lead and increased the margin to 26-0 before the young Cowboys hit back with four unanswered tries in the final 25 minutes.

“Obviously there were a lot of fringe guys in there and it was their opportunity (on Saturday) night,’’ Pride coach Andrew Dunemann said.

“I think they took it for 40 minutes but they didn’t take it for 80.

“For them to be regulars in our team they need to be dable to do it for 80 and I think there’s a lot of them there that didn’t.

“In saying that, the first 60 minutes they played was very good.’’

Matt Bartlett, Warren Jensen and Gordon Rattler scored for the Pride in the opening 20 minutes and with halfback Luke Millwood converting two of the three tries, Northern raced to a 16-0 lead, a margin they held at halftime.

When Rodney Jensen flew out of the defensive line to take a juggled intercept and raced 90m to score, the Pride’s margin was out to 22-0.

And when Rattler notched his second four-pointer of the night, soon after, strolling over in the right corner after taking a cross-field kick the Pride looked as though they could rack up a cricket score.

But the Cowboys got better as the game wore on.

They completed 12-12 sets in the second term, creating opportunities and exposed the Pride’s left-side defence on several occasions, scoring most of their tries down the right flank.

Bench player Robbie Daniel made an impact when he took the field, notching a hat-trick of tries within 15 minutes in the second term.

Cowboys fullback Ben Hanaway’s try in the 73rd minute helped his team edge closer but its failure to convert any of the four-pointers left it short of the Pride at the final buzzer.

The Pride were their own worst enemies in the final 20 minutes, handing over possession too often, many times deep in their own territory.

But the early lead gave Dunemann the chance to blood several under-18 players who took the field in the final stages.

“We made a lot of changes, we had five under-18 boys on there at the end just to give those boys a run,’’ he said.

“I think they deserve it. They’ve been really committed those 16s and 18s, so it’s just a bit of a reward for that.’’
And after a slow start, the Cowboys made the most of their opportunities.

Cowboys coach Kristian Woolf said while his team’s execution could have been better, he was happy with the effort.

“We started a little rusty but in saying that we haven’t had a run before, it’s our first run this year, they’ve had a very interrupted pre-season so far because of the weather,’’ he said.

Ivanhoes junior James Segeyaro, named on the Cowboys’ bench last week, did not make the trip after injuring himself at training on Thursday but is expected to be a significant part of the club’s Toyota Cup campaign this season.

In the earlier games, Atherton Roosters recovered from a 10-4 halftime deficit to force a 14-14 draw with the Pride under-18s, while Pride’s under-16s proved too strong for the Roosters’ under-18s, winning their clash 50-1.

NORTHERN PRIDE 26 (Gordon Rattler 2, Matt Bartlett, Warren Jensen, Rodney Jensen tries; Luke Millwood 3 goals) d NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS UNDER-20s 16 (Robbie Daniels 3, Ben Hanaway tries) at NQ Hardware Stadium, Atherton.

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/02/23/40605_cowboys.html

Daniels stars for under-20s in Atherton

ANTONY STEWART

February 23rd, 2009

SPEEDY back Robbie Daniels did his chances of earning a fulltime call-up no harm with a strong showing for the Cowboys under-20s in Atherton on Saturday night.

Daniels was among the standouts for the losing North Queensland side, who went down in a trial to Queensland Cup outfit the Northern Pride 26-16 at NQ Hardware Stadium.

The Brothers product, at the Cowboys on a training trial, scored three tries in 15 minutes to help close the gap on the Pride after they roared out to a 26-0 lead after halftime.

With the club set to make a decision on whether to add Daniels to their fulltime squad before the season starts, coach Kristian Woolf said he could not have done much more.

"We have been getting really good reports on him from Brothers, so we brought him in on a trial and he offered a bit, he was quite good," he said.

"We have got to make a decision on whether to bring him in fulltime, but he certainly didn't hurt his chances, he went well."

Despite the loss, Woolf was pleased by the hit-out, in which he rotated a 22-man squad, giving players roughly 40 minutes each to shine.

After terrible preparation due to the North's big wet, the Cowboys were understandably scratchy to start and trailed 16-0 at halftime before tries to Rod Jensen and Gordon Rattler extended the advantage further after the break.

But on the back of a perfect 12-of-12 completion rate in the second half, North Queensland showed what they were really capable of.

"They stuck to it and went quite well in the second half," Woolf said.

"We have got a lot of improvement in us."

As well as Daniels, schoolboy-aged players Wayne Ulugia, John Koko, Michael Morgan, Moses Pangai and Robbie McLeod drew praise from Woolf.

"They all held their own very well against much older opponents," he said.

The under-20s play a trial against a Townsville representative team this weekend.

NORTHERN PRIDE 26 (Gordon Rattler 2, Matt Bartlett, Warren Jensen, Rodney Jensen tries; Luke Millwood 3 goals) d COWBOYS UNDER-20s 16 (Robbie Daniels 3, Ben Henaway tries) at NQ Hardware Stadium, Atherton.

[Granty]

http://www.cowboys.com.au/news.php?id=696&page=1

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys COMBINED v Cairns Pride

5.30pm, Saturday 28 February – Barlow Park, Cairns

Team: David Pangai, Moses Pangai, Shannon Hegarty, John Williams, Brandon Boor, Grant Rovelli, Ben Cronin, Dayne Weston, Clint Amos, Matthew Bartlett, Mitchell Achurch, Steve Rapira, Nick Slyney

Interchange: Steve Eliott, Dane Hogan, Troyden Watene, Matt Groves

Coach: Matt Parish