Round 6 (v Sharks) Teams & Stories

[Granty]

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys (NYC) v Sharks


Round 6 Toyota Cup
12pm Sunday 19 April, Toyota Park


Cowboys

Wayne Ulugia
Obe Geia
Moses Pangai
Jared Huston
Steve Eliott
Troyden Watene
Michael Morgan
Ronnie Alovili
Darren Tonihi
Dylan Smith
Jack Cooper
Chris Faust
Dane Hogan

Interchange:

Chris McLean
Tyson Martin
Chippie Korostchuk
Aidan Day

Coach: Kristian Woolf


Sharks

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/04/18/49431_sport.html

Cowboys' under-20s' No. 7 out of Sharks match

JOSH ALSTON

April 18th, 2009

HALFBACK Ben Cronin's late bid to play for the Cowboys under-20s was denied after he failed a fitness test on his injured hip.

Coach Kristian Woolf will persist with the makeshift halves pairing of Michael Morgan and second-rower Troyden Watene against the Sharks tomorrow, with the other halves option of Ray Thompson and Sam Bowie also injured.

"(Cronin) is still no good so we're hopeful he might be right for next week, if not the week after," Woolf said.

While Morgan started the season at hooker, Woolf said the 17-year-old Ignatius Park College student had relished the challenge.

"He's going OK, he's certainly improving on aspects each week," he said.

"It's been a very steep learning curve for a young bloke, to go to steering the 20s side around at this level.

"He's been improving each week and we're constantly talking with him about the little things he can do to improve and he's making the effort to do that."

Cronulla have proven to be a surprise package this season after finishing third-last in 2008.

They have won three of their five games, including a gutsy win over the previously unbeaten Canberra Raiders last weekend.

"It will be a tough game, they're currently sitting in (seventh) on the ladder so they're going OK," Woolf said.

"They've got a couple of guys who played first grade when they beat Canberra coming back into the side, so that will make them tough.

"They've got some good players, one of the front-rowers who played first grade is Johnny Mannah, so it's certainly going to be good for them to have him back.

"They have another good prop in John Viiga, and Lancen Joudoour out of dummy half is a classy little player, so they will be good for them."

[Granty]

http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2009/04/20/49735_sport.html

Under-20s Cowboys fend off comeback to dominate

JOSH ALSTON

April 20th, 2009

THE undermanned Cowboys under-20s survived a second-half comeback to down the Cronulla Sharks 24-16 in Sydney yesterday afternoon.

Leading 20-6, North Queensland were in the box seat to bring the Sharks back to earth after their win against reigning premiers Canberra last weekend.

Cronulla rallied though, Nathan Stapleton and Shane Pumipi scoring to give themselves a chance to come back.

But the Cowboys were able to score through Steven Eliot and ice the game.

Coach Kristian Woolf said he was pleased with their efforts in the first 60 minutes of the game.

"They were quite happy with the win, they played pretty well for the majority of the game," he said.

"We gave them a few opportunities at the end of the game and there were a couple of late tries that put pressure on us but the majority of the game was good and we were quite dominant.

"The first 60 minutes was the best team performance we've put together this year."

The win has stabilised the Cowboys' season which could easily have been derailed following injuries to halves Ray Thompson, Sam Bowie and Ben Cronin.

The club now sits just outside of the top eight on three wins and three losses, with Cronin to return next weekend.

"We're still pretty inexperienced in that area, hopefully Ben Cronin will be back this week, it's certainly not Troyden's (Watene) go, he wants to go back into the forwards," Woolf said.

"But they did a good enough job for us today to have a win.

"We'll take confidence out of that and hopefully with Ben coming back and a few more troops coming back we'll continue to play well and get some more wins."