Sharks’ finals confidence hit, Cowboys fly in NRLW
Margie McDonald |
North Queensland have shown again why they can be a force in their first finals series with a 42-14 win over St George Illawarra in the NRLW.
But Cronulla have had their confidence for the finals dented in an upset 24-14 loss to Canterbury.
The Sharks are still finals-bound but face the unbeaten Roosters next Thursday, meaning they could enter the playoffs off the back of two defeats.
For the 11th-placed Bulldogs, who had not enjoyed a win since round two in July, it was their David and Goliath moment against the third-placed Cronulla.
Canterbury held an 8-4 halftime lead at Accor Stadium but then five-eighth Ash Quinlan weaved her magic early in the second half with two sublime passes in three minutes to put Elizabeth MacGregor and Shannon Muru over.
The margin shot out to 18-4 as the Sharks once again found themselves in the same predicament they were in a week ago against the Knights. But they at least had a happy ending back then.
Former Shark Tayla Preston put the final nail in the coffin, scoring and converting in the 53rd minute end the string of defeats for her side.
Preston was central all night with 16 kicks for 400 metres alongside her 12 point-personal tally.
“I’m stoked,” Bulldogs fullback Indie Robinson told Fox League.
“We knew that was going to be a really tough game because a few of us have come from the Sharks and they’ve been in great form.
“But it was a great win to break that losing streak and show our potential.”
In the earlier Saturday game, the Cowboys bettered their previous club points-scoring record of 38 with the seven-try haul at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium.
Ricky Henry’s team has shown no fear of being on the road by winning all four of their away games so far, and they will need that form again as they travel to play Brisbane in next week’s final round.
They galloped away from an 18-10 lead at the break to pile on the points in the second half, helping erase memories of their 30-0 loss to the Roosters in Townsville a week ago.
“We want to prove that we can match it with the best and last week we didn’t do that,” five-eighth and co-captain Kirra Dibb said.
“Our girls have taken a lot of footy IQ from the losses over the past three years. We now feel we have the experience to match it with the top sides.”
Dragons fullback Teagan Berry did her best to steer her side towards victory with two tries in her 40th game, giving her 35 in her career.
She also amassed 297 run metres alongside four line breaks and seven tackle busts.
But it was the Cowboys’ forwards work up the middle led by Lillian Yarrow, Makenzie Weale and Bree Chester, combined with 11 offloads and a low error count (six), that did the preliminary damage.
Outside backs Krystal Blackwell, Abigail Roache and Fran Goldthorp (a double) profited from that grunt work by scoring tries, while Dibb landed seven goals.
Yarrow does have an anxious wait for the match review committee after being put on report for a lifting tackle on Berry in the 14th minute.
AAP
