Josh Jackson stars as Canterbury upset North Queensland 24-12

A star turn from backrower Josh Jackson has helped Canterbury to an upset win over North Queensland to, temporarily at least, climb off the foot of the ladder.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 26: Corey Harawira-Naera of the Bulldogs celebrates with teammates after scoring a try during the round 7 NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium on April 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

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Josh Jackson never plays a bad game. Never plays a bad minute.

Yet for some reason the inspirational Canterbury captain never gets a mention in the NSW Origin debate.

Well, it’s about time he did.

So in the wake of this gritty 24-12 win over a lacklustre North Queensland, Bulldogs coach Dean Pay came out swinging in support of his skipper.

In comparison, Paul Green stopped a long way short of talking up the Origin hopes of his star players after another embarrassing performance, with the Cowboys going down four-tries-to-two in their first trip back to ANZ Stadium since the 2017 NRL grand final.

It was a deserved win for the Bulldogs. AAP Image/Brendon Thorne.

CAPTAIN COURAGEOUS

Maybe it’s because Jackson has been around for so long and already played nine Origins people might think he is too old to still be in the equation.

But in actual fact Jackson is only 28, the same age as the suspended Jack de Belin, and Jackson has already played nine Origins.

Tyson Frizell, Boyd Cordner, Jake Trbojevic, Tariq Sims and Angus Crichton are the other back-row contenders having all played for NSW last year.

Asked if he thought Jackson should be in the debate, Pay was adamant: “I think he should. He is just the heart and soul of us. Him and Aiden Tolman, they do it every week.

“If Freddie is looking for a lock to play in the middle I know he’d put his hand up and he’d be ready for it.”

Jackson was rewarded with a well-deserved second half try and Gorden Tallis was certainly impressed

“Josh Jackson is worth his weight in gold,” Tallis said.

“He just goes out there every week and puts everything on the line.”

Tallis even used Jackson’s performance to challenge an out-of-form Queenslander.

“I would like to see Coen Hess do the same,’ Tallis added.

“He is a foot taller and he waits for the game to come to him.”

Tolman also produced another iron man effort, running for a game-high 181m and knocking up 42 tackles.

Corey Harawira-Naera also came back from what Pay conceded wasn’t a great first half to finish with two tries.

Jackson was strong in the middle, as ever. AAP Image/Brendon Thorne.

COGGER OR FORAN?

With Kieran Foran possibly back from injury in a few weeks’ time, Dean Pay was asked if the form of Jack Cogger could cause a selection headache.

“Yeah. It is nice to have one,” Pay grinned.

In all seriousness, this youngster just gets better by the week playing alongside Lachie Lewis.

“All the greats have got to start somewhere and that is where these two boys are at,’ Pay said. “How far they can go we are not sure.

“Jack works really hard on his footy. He loves footy. He watches it all the time. He is a student of the game. He wants to be a first grader and a really good one.”

COWS’ DISTANT MEMORY

It’s hard to believe the Cowboys have fallen so far so quickly.

Back in 2017 watching North Queensland on their charge to the grand final was the best show in rugby league.

But their first trip back to ANZ Stadium was an absolute fizzer.

They were as flat as pancakes in attack and as for their players chasing Origin selection such as Morgan, Jordan McLean, Gavin Cooper, Hess and Josh McGuire, Green was hardly pushing their hopes.

“I am just saying generally our team hasn’t been in great form so I would say that to pick a rep side you would want to pick from teams who are full of confidence and playing well,” Green said.

North Queensland again failed to fire a shot. AAP Image/Brendon Thorne.

NO CROWDED HOUSE

The NRL has had some ripped crowds in recent times. The near sellout for the grand opening of Bankwest Stadium last Monday was outstanding and the 38,000-plus who turned up to the SCG on Anzac was fabulous.

Harawira-Naera powered over for a double. Photo by Matt King/Getty Images.

If ever there was a game to be taken out of Sydney to one of the regional areas this was it.

The official crowd at ANZ Stadium was 6,711 and that might have been through counting feet instead of heads.

CANTERBURY 24 (C Harawira-Naera 2 J Jackson J Okunbor tries R Martin 4 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 12 (B Hampton J O’Neill tries J Kahu 2 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Chris Sutton, Phil Henderson. Crowd: 6,711

Originally published as Josh Jackson stars as Canterbury upset North Queensland 24-12