Roosters v Cowboys player ratings: Who starred, who struggled?

NORTH Queensland pulled off the impossible at ANZ Stadium as the Roosters’ season came crashing down. Check out who delivered in our player ratings.

Roosters winger Blake Ferguson runs into the Cowboys defence.

NORTH Queensland pulled off the impossible at ANZ Stadium as the Roosters’ season came crashing down. Check out who delivered in our player ratings.

DECIDER: Roosters crash, Cowboys ride on

ROOSTERS:

Michael Gordon — 6

Made plenty of metres coming out of trouble, but also made mistakes.

Latrell Mitchell — 5

Started on the wing and had a mixed night with a number of errors in attack and defence, including two kick-offs out on the full. He also scored a crucial first-half try.

Ryan Matterson — 5

Elevated to the starting side, but struggled to produce his best on the big stage.

Mitchell Aubusson — 6

Solid without being brilliant.

Blake Ferguson — 6

Looked dangerous every time he touched the ball and scored an important second-half try but also made a number of mistakes.

Keary was one of the few bright spots for the Roosters. Picture: Brett Costello

Luke Keary — 7

Delivered a pinpoint kick for Mitchell’s first-half try, but the Roosters needed more of his potent running game in attack.

Mitchell Pearce — 5

Quiet performance by his high standards.

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves — 6

High work rate in defence, but lacked his usual venom when running the ball.

Jake Friend — 7

Workmanlike and determined. Never gave up.

Dylan Napa — 6

Laid a potent platform for the Roosters’ backs.

Boyd Cordner — 7

The skipper led from the front in attack and defence, while he set up a vital second-half try for Connor Watson.

Boyd Cordner put in a captain’s performance. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Aidan Guerra — 6

Work rate high like most of the Roosters’ pack.

Isaac Liu — 5

Made a few crucial errors in the first-half, but improved in the second.

Interchange:

Daniel Tupou — 3

Only received 15 minutes of game time off the bench.

Sio Siua Taukeiaho — 4

Made a few errors and lacked potency.

Zane Tetevano — 6

Played a crucial role off the bench with impact in attack and defence.

Connor Watson — 6

Scored a vital second-half try and provided plenty of spark off the bench.

TOTAL: 97

Kyle Feldt summed up the Cowboys never-say-die attitude. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

COWBOYS:

Lachlan Coote — 6

Solid as a rock and impressive bringing the ball out of trouble.

Kyle Feldt — 7

Hurt his leg in the first half, but bravely played on clearly hampered by the injury to score a freakish second-half try.

Justin O’Neill — 6

Put the Cowboys on the front foot with his run metres, but gifted the Roosters a try in the second-half.

Kane Linnett — 7

Defence was impressive, while he scored an impressive second-half try off Morgan.

Antonio Winterstein — 6

The master of the tough carries played a vital role for the Cowboys.

Te Maire Martin — 7

Beat five Roosters defenders to score a scintillating solo try in the first-half.

What would every club give for their own Michael Morgan. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Michael Morgan — 9

Continued his stellar finals series with another quality performance. Kicked a beautiful 40/20, perfectly controlled proceedings and set up two tries.

Shaun Fensom — 6

Solid without being spectacular.

Jake Granville — 7

At his creative best in attack and never stopped in defence.

Scott Bolton — 7

He may be 30, but this guy keeps getting better with age. The type of toiler every side needs.

Gavin Cooper — 6

Reliable in defence and attack as usual.

Ethan Lowe — 7

Maintained his high goal kicking standard with a couple of crackers from the sideline, while he hit like concrete in defence.

Ethan Lowe was the epitome of consistency. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Jason Taumalolo — 7

Busted his gut, but not the barnstorming performance we’ve seen in previous weeks.

Interchange:

Ben Hampton — 5

Limited impact off the bench.

Coen Hess — 6

Looked impressive in his limited time on the field

Corey Jensen — 4

Only used sparingly off the bench

John Asiata — 6

Came off the bench and contributed some solid efforts.

TOTAL: 109

Originally published as Roosters v Cowboys player ratings: Who starred, who struggled?