Sharks v Cowboys: How the NRL finals clash was won and lost

THE Cowboys live on and the Sharks reign as champions is over — here’s where their NRL finals clash was won and lost.

Paul Gallen and the Sharks look on after their loss to the Cowboys.

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THE Cowboys live on and the Sharks reign as champions is over after a thrilling 15-14 victory for North Queensland in golden point.

Here’s where the game was won and lost.

1) COWS WIN ON HEART, SHARKS LOSE ON ERRORS

Cronulla were undone by the same bad habits that have haunted them all season. Needless penalties, sloppy errors and poor execution have dogged them in many matches this season, often putting them into needlessly tight situations. They completed at a little over 60%, which is not good enough in any match, let alone a finals game and they drowned under the weight of their own mistakes. Nowhere was this more apparent than their final play of the match. Andrew Fifita only had to hit it up and get tackled in order to set up a field-goal attempt — instead he wandered across field and threw a foolish pass that turned over possession. North Queensland produced one of the finest performances in their history — nobody would have batted an eye if they rolled over under the weight of the injuries they have suffered but they refused to break, even though they bent. It was a magnificent win for a group of very tough men.

Paul Gallen and the Sharks look on after their loss to the Cowboys.

2) TAUMALOLO ISN’T HUMAN

Do some tests. Get the folks in the lab working on it pronto. I want answers, because Jason Taumalolo is clearly more machine than man. The Cowboys lock was the best player on the field, just ahead of Sharks backrower Wade Graham, tearing into the heart of the Cronulla defence at every opportunity and playing a major role in their second-half comeback, both in terms of making metres and in twisting his way over for a try. It may not have been the equal of his magnificent performance against the Broncos in the finals last year, but it was close. Taumalolo has somehow improved on his Dally M season from last year and that $10 million deal might be unders.

3) COWS ATTACK FAILS TO FIRE

Both the Cowboys and Sharks could not get their attack together the way they would have liked in the first half. North Queensland were far too sideways once they entered the Cronulla 20-metre zone and were well handled on the fringes of the ruck by Bird and Ricky Leutele, who both shut down a number of attacking raids. Once their halves started playing closer to the line they were rewarded, with Michael Morgan’s cut-out pass to Kyle Feldt kick-starting their second-half charge.

Jason Taumalolo was the best player on the field.

4) HOLMES NOT AT HOME JUST YET

Valentine Holmes is still developing his all-round skill set as a fullback and given how much of Cronulla’s attack is designed to flow through their fullback the premiers need more from their young star. More than once Holmes either failed to find the key man on an attacking shift or fired off a pass that drifted forward. The Test and Origin star is a fine player and still ran the ball well, but if he’s to hold on to the custodian’s role next season ahead of Josh Dugan he needs to be a little sharper with his options.

5) SHARKS CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES

Cronulla have struggled with discipline for several seasons and James Maloney is the most penalised player in the competition for a reason — their bad habits came back to bite them in the worst possible way late in the first half. After committing a series of offences throughout the first half, Maloney was binned in the shadows of half-time for taking out Ethan Lowe when the Cowboys forward was chasing a kick. It may have saved a try but it still put the Sharks under immense pressure at a crucial point in the game which was compounded by Feldt’s try just before his return.