DIZZYING heights to demoralising lows. Queensland clubs saw it all in Round 2 of the NRL.
Whenever the Broncos play the Cowboys it is simply rugby league at its finest and the latest instalment was no different.
They are just magnificent advertisements for the game in what has become a rivalry for the ages.
Just package up the last five or so times these two teams have played into a few DVDs and it will sell like hot cakes before Father’s Day. Seriously. You are welcome Todd Greenberg.
It seems cruel we have to wait until Round 26 to see them play each other again.
Johnathan Thurston. Photo: AAPSource:AAP
You-know-who did his usual you-know-what for North Queensland to have the Cowboys riding off into the sunset with the two points to leave the brave Broncos empty-handed.
The poor old Titans can’t take a trick. Injuries had already savaged the squad before the team left for Newcastle and then more drama unfolded to leave tumbleweeds on the interchange bench.
Neil Henry must have seen a black cat as he walked under the ladder on a Friday the 13th.
Trouble ahead in Titantown.
BRONCOS
Rate: Credit where it’s due, Ben Hunt’s kicking game and overall performance was a vast improvement. He was accurate with both long and short kicks, took on the line and defended strongly. It was a good comeback full of character.
Matt Gillett’s workload before he went off with a head knock was also eye-catching. The man is a machine. Jordan Kahu showed some courage by playing on one leg and making a valuable contribution.
Hate: Had enough ball and territory to win three golden point periods. Milford takes too long to kick drop goals and Hunt does not present himself as an option enough.
Jordan Kahu. Photo: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
COWBOYS
Rate: JT. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Added another chapter to his legend by getting the Cardiac Kids home again. Only a matter of time before he’s an Immortal with his own statue outside Suncorp Stadium. (The statue should feature an audio component where you push a button and his trademark laugh comes out. Just an idea.)
How good is Cohen Hess going to be? He’s a very big young man, with a bigger future. Had to also love the hard line Michael Morgan ran for his try. A real pro.
Hate: The season ending injury to Matt Scott, A massive blow for the Cowboys, Maroons and Kangaroos. A possible suspension for Jason Taumalolo hurts the 2015 premiers too.
Matt Scott. Photo: AAPSource:AAP
TITANS
Rate: The way guys like Ash Taylor and Ryan James kept fighting the good fight as teammates dropped like flies around them. They’ve got no troops but the Titans have some ticker and battled hard before the Knights overwhelmed them. The spectacular team try finished off by Greenwood was a ripper.
Hate: Kids, this is what you call an “injury crisis’’. A bigger casualty ward than an episode of “MASH’’ headed by the Hayne Pain leaves the Titans reeling further in a horror start to a year that promised so much. Former West Belconnen five-eighth extraordinaire Neil Henry might have to become player-coach at this rate.
Injured Jarryd Hayne. Photo: Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
Originally published as Thrills, spills and painkilling pills
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