Bowen magic has Cowboys riding high once again
Sun Herald
Sunday August 2, 2009
BOTH coaches were lining up the superlatives for North Queensland dynamo Matt Bowen after his brilliant display in the Cowboys' 34-18 upset NRL win over Gold Coast at Skilled Park on Friday night.Under normal circumstances, Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston would have secured man-of-the-match honours, but Bowen's sublime performance in attack and defence stole the show from his classy teammate."Matty Bowen was on fire tonight, he was everywhere," Titans coach John Cartwright said after the Titans' nine-game winning streak at home was brought to an end.Titans captain Scott Prince agreed."Matt B had a field day," was Prince's assessment of Bowen's best night of the season.Bowen took his NRL career try tally to 101 with a double, but it was his courageous defence that most impressed his coach and teammates."Everyone praises his attack but his two try-saving tackles, that's what we value most," said Thurston, who was also at his dangerous best with the ball in hand."He's only a little man but he put his body on the line, that's what we expect."Cowboys coach Neil Henry rated Bowen's exhibition as his best of the year and a return to top form following a serious knee injury that ruined his 2008 season."Matty was very involved, and defensively he came up with two try saving tackles," said Henry who, also rated the team's first half as close to its best.The game was all but over after the Cowboys raced in four first-half tries for a 22-0 lead.After applying most of the pressure in the opening 10 minutes but failing to convert chances into points, the Titans were the first to crack.Henry's tactic of going with a running pack paid off, especially when Matt Scott joined the game from the bench, smashing out some big metres along with Scott Tronc, who played 50 minutes without a break."It was a result we needed," enthused Henry. "We needed to be desperate."I thought the first 20 minutes, our defence was outstanding. I don't think we've put 40 minutes together like that first half, we had to hang in early, they don't give you much."We were desperate for a win. We didn't want to drop out of the eight."The victory will give the Cowboys some confidence going to Melbourne next week, starting a tough run home that also includes games against the Bulldogs, Newcastle and Brisbane."Our draw is pretty tough but if we can get some momentum we will be battle hardened going into the finals," said Henry.Titans centre Brett Delaney is looking at four to six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring tear in the loss.Friday night's win was the Cowboys' third from nine starts away from Dairy Farmers Stadium. Road results will go a long way towards defining their season.Despite losing, Gold Coast remain firmly entrenched in the top four.
© 2009 Sun Herald
