Cameron Smith leads the way in Melbourne’s 24-16 win over North Queensland
Cameron Smith continues to defy the odds and Melbourne keep defying all before them in their run to the finals with a 24-16 win over North Queensland.
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Cameron Smith continues to defy the odds in rugby league.
At 36-years-old, the most capped NRL player ever reached 206 points in a season - his highest tally in his 18-year career and the third highest of a Melbourne player.
In front of 12,085 at AAMI Park, Smith and a second half Storm surge buried a courageous Cowboys in what was their 15th loss of the year.
In scenes reminiscent of the 2017 grand final, Melbourne simply didn’t let up against a gallant North Queensland side to cement themselves as the best team in the competition.
It wasn’t the send off the Cowboys would have liked to give retiring veterans Scott Bolton and Matt Scott - but last night showed there are signs of life in the north of the state.
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Despite the loss, the future looks bright in Townsville with the Cowboys young guns stepping up to give the Storm a slight scare leading into the finals series.
Former Storm recruit, now Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater continued his attacking prowess by setting up a late try for winger Kyle Feldt amid a late surge by the visitors.
Shane Wright and Tom Opacic also combined in the 80th minute in a flashy bit of football brilliance to send veteran Gavin Cooper over the line.
At times, the visitors looked an entirely different team to the one that has failed to string together at least 10 wins for a second consecutive year.
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Not since the dark days of 1995 to 2002 have the Cowboys had such poor back-to-back years, when they won less than 10 games in eight straight seasons.
They wake up this morning in 12th spot and worst case scenario could see them fall to as low as 14th as they prepare for Mad Monday and another long pre-season.
It was always going to be a formidable challenge against this year’s minor premiers, who now boast a 10-game winning streak over the Cowboys.
Melbourne were without star players Cameron Munster, Josh Addo-Carr and Brandon Smith however, but the Cowboys still displayed one of their better performances of their year.
Luckily for both sides, all players avoided serious injury, however head referee Henry Peranara’s finals hopes are in doubt after suffering a hip injury at halftime.
The Cowboys will be pleased to have finished their season with a performance like that while the Storm now prepare to play either the Rabbitohs or Raiders next weekend.
Some Michael Morgan magic had the Cowboys first on the scoreboard after a clever draw-and-pass to left winger Murray Taulagi
In just his fifth game back in the NRL, Melbourne winger Sandor Earl had the home side on the scoreboard.
And Smith’s successful conversion saw him notch up 200 points this 2019 season.
North Queensland looked likely to head into the break trailing 6-4 if it were not for man-mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona who slammed the ball over the line with three minutes to go.
Will Chambers extended the lead after the break to take it out to 18-4 before the Cowboys rallied together for a late surge to finish the game 24-16.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1) All eyes were on the Cowboys this season to see how they would cope without club great Johnathan Thurston and it’s fair to say, not great. They are in dire need of a player who can turn something out of nothing and at the moment, it looks like Scott Drinkwater could be that man. The classy fullback set up a sublime try to Kyle Feldt and continues to look dangerous in attack.
2) Rugby league has not had a club as dominant as the Melbourne Storm since the undefeated 1959 Dragons. The Storm this year have lost just four games this season with each game by a margin of five points or less. Their third minor premiership in four years has set them up once again for another grand final appearance.
3) North Queensland’s future does look bright despite their poor year. Recruits Scott Drinkwater and Tom Opacic have been their best attacking players all year, while young guns Shane Wright, Francis Molo and Peter Hola look like future stars.
4) Captain Michael Morgan needs a proper halves partner next year. John Asiata put in a valiant effort but hardly touched the ball. North Queensland has averaged 15.7 points per game this season, their fewest since 1998.
5) Cameron Smith continues to defy the odds in rugby league after notching his highest season points tally ever. At 36-years-old, Smith scored 206 points this year – the third highest of any Melbourne player in the club’s history.
MELBOURNE 24 (N Asofa-Solomona W Chambers S Earl M King tries C Smith 4 goals) bt NORTH QUEENSLAND 16 (G Cooper K Feldt M Taulagi tries K Feldt 2 goals) at AAMI Park. Referee: Henry Perenara, David Munro. Crowd: 12,085.
Originally published as Cameron Smith leads the way in Melbourne’s 24-16 win over North Queensland