NRL 2020: North Queensland Cowboys beat Gold Coast Titans 36-6
Cowboys guns Jason Taumalolo and Valentine Holmes blew the Gold Coast Titans away as North Queensland christened its new stadium with a resounding 36-6 win. Plus five things we learned.
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Cowboys weapon Jason Taumalolo blew the Gold Coast Titans away as North Queensland christened their new stadium with a resounding 36-6 win.
In his first match since running for a record 318m in Round 2, Taumalolo was back to his devastating best with a game-changing performance to relegate the Titans a 14th straight loss.
It has been nearly a year since the Titans tasted victory in the NRL, with new coach Justin Holbrook overseeing three losses to start his tenure on the Gold Coast.
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For the Cowboys, it was a sweet night to restart the season.
While the grandstands at Queensland Country Bank Stadium were empty, the Cowboys recorded their first win at the new $250 million venue and were impressive to go 2-1 in 2020.
After two lean seasons in North Queensland, the Cowboys are back and much of that has to do with Taumalolo rediscovering the type of form that saw him claim the 2016 Dally M Medal alongside Cooper Cronk.
The Cowboys were leading 14-6 in the 53rd minute when the Tongan powerhouse was injected into the contest for his second stint and that was when the match changed.
Taumalolo took his running metres tally from 71m to 274m in the back end of the game, making numerous charges to catapult the Cowboys to victory in the first round of the post-COVID season.
Taumalolo’s efforts were the catalyst for Cowboys bench dynamo Reece Robson to bag a brace of tries in his third game for the club.
Five-eighth Scott Drinkwater and fullback Valentine Holmes were constantly threatening, the latter finishing with three try-assists in his best game since returning from the NFL.
Cowboys coach Paul Green said Taumalolo benefited from having a longer than usual rest and Holmes was starting to find his feet again in the NRL.
“They talked about targeting Jase so he did a fair bit of work defensively early, I had the luxury of giving him a rest,” he said.
“(Holmes) is a class player, his involvements were better again.
“If he can keep improving we will see the old Val Holmes. He’s not far off.
“To win like that was pleasing. We were a little bit clunky at different times but we were creating opportunities. Defensively we were pretty good.”
The Titans have not sung their victory song since June 9 last year and will be desperate to beat Wests Tigers on Sunday week to ensure they don’t go more than 12 months without a win.
The Titans were immediately under the pump and showed great resolve to repel numerous Cowboys raids before their defence finally cracked in the ninth minute when Ben Hampton crossed.
When the Gold Coast finally got some ball they made it count, late inclusion Brian Kelly beating rival winger Kyle Feldt with a slick step to get the Titans on the board.
An end-to-end contest quickly emerged, the Cowboys crossing next when Justin O’Neill ran on to a deft pass from Drinkwater.
The Titans had a golden opportunity to hit back when Cowboys forward Mitch Dunn was sin-binned, but North Queensland instead edged ahead 14-6 at halftime with a penalty goal after Ash Taylor’s dropout trick shot backfired.
“It’s pretty disappointing, we were clearly outplayed,” said Titans coach Justin Holbrook.
“We weren’t good enough. We were a million miles off like we were in round two (46-6 loss to Parramatta).
“We’ve got to play smarter. The Cowboys were way too good for us.”
The start of the second half was a more grinding affair after the nervous energy dissipated. That was until Taumalolo entered the fray.
After watching the opening 13 minutes of the half, Taumalolo burst through the Titans with his second touch, running for 40m to allow Robson to dart over from dummy-half.
Robson did the same again four minutes later on the back of another strong Taumalolo charge.
Holmes put Ben Hampton and Feldt over late in the game with deft passes and the Cowboys’ defence held strong for 66 minutes to keep the Titans anchored to the bottom of the ladder.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Jason Taumalolo is in better form than when he won the Dally M Medal in 2016. Taumalolo’s second stint won the game for the Cowboys and he finished with a huge 274m after running for a record 318m in Round 2. He is unstoppable at the moment.
2. Valentine Holmes played his best game since returning from the NFL. Holmes finished with three try-assists on the back of some beautiful passes few players could pull off. He is starting to look threatening after missing the entire 2019 season.
3. Five-eighth Scott Drinkwater is proving to be a very handy player for the Cowboys. Drinkwater has all the attributes of a gun playmaker – speed, skill, confidence and a calm head and has developed a slick combination with Holmes at the back.
4. The Titans make too many poor errors to compete in the NRL. Whether it’s forward passes, careless knock-ons or missed tackles, they lack the fundamental basics of the game. “They just self-destruct,” as Fox League caller Dan Ginnane said. They have been beaten by 40 and 30 points in their past two games.
5. The Titans can’t find a decent hooker. Mitch Rein was dropped after the first two games and while Nathan Peats was solid defensively, his service from dummy-half was terrible and left coach Justin Holbrook fuming.
Originally published as NRL 2020: North Queensland Cowboys beat Gold Coast Titans 36-6