Sydney Roosters demolish North Queensland Cowboys as Matt Ikuvalu scores five tries in 65-year first

Late fill-in Matt Ikuvalu stunned the league, more than doubling his career try-scoring tally, but the feat has left North Queensland slammed.

Andrew McMurtry

@AndrewMcMurtry

2 min read

July 10, 2020 - 5:42AM

Coen Hess looks dejected after the game.

The Sydney Roosters have once again showed they’re the real deal with an incredible 42-16 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys.

With the back-to-back premiers facing the Cowboys without six of their grand final-winning team from last year — as well as Jake Friend failing a head injury assessment after the Cowboys’ opening try — the Roosters would have been forgiven if it had been too much for the side to get over the line.

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But once again the side’s depth has shone with Matt Ikuvalu, the winger who replaced Brett Morris after he left the game during the warm up with a groin injury, scoring five tries — a first in the NRL since Souths’ Alex Johnston in 2017 and the first Rooster since Brian Allsop in 1955 to score five.

It was a stunning performance as the winger only found out during the warm up that he was playing with Morris clearly uncomfortable with a groin tweak.

Three hours ago Ikavalu was kickinâ€™ back in the stands ready to watch the lads @sydneyroosters ... nek minnut FIVE tries!ðŸ”¥ unbelievable #NRLCowboysRoosters
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) July 9, 2020

He didn’t miss a beat, as the Roosters continued to go to the right and Ikuvalu had a field day.

After scoring one try in the first half, his four second half tries, as well as Luke Keary’s double, blew the Cowboys off the field.

Matt Ikuvalu had the time of his life.

Incredibly, it was just 12-6 at halftime, despite the injuries to Morris and Friend.

The Cowboys, having lost Valentine Holmes before halftime, capitulated in the second. Ikuvalu even had his five tries in just 35 minutes as the Roosters’ first and last try scorer in an eight-try blitz.

The Roosters scored all their points between the 31st and 64th minutes in a stunning performance.

The Cowboys’ second half was savaged by commentators as they conceded five tries with some shocking defence.

“That was awful defence,” Andrew Johns said on Channel 9, as Luke Keary crossed for his second try in three minutes to blow the Cowboys off the field in the 52nd minute.

For the same try, Fox League’s Andrew Voss said “stop the fight, throw in the towel” as the Roosters ran riot.

It was six tries in 20 minutes and Greg Alexander said “in the space of 14 minutes, it’s gone from ‘we can get these blokes’ to ‘this is embarrassing’.”

“It’s looking like the Newcastle performance or the first 40 minutes against the Knights a fortnight ago was an aberration from what they’ve offered for the rest of the season,” said Alexander.

“The Warriors put them to the sword, the Eels last week minus (Mitchell) Moses, minus Nathan Brown were far too good for them.

“It has been a disaster since we’ve returned. I don’t know what he [Paul Green] would even say to them downstairs, I don’t know where he can go from here.

“I don’t know if he’s got any answers, whether the Cowboys as a club have any answers before the end of the season.”

The Cowboys were blown off the park by the Roosters.

Soon after, Johns fired up again.

“The defence once again is not up to NRL standard,” Johns said as stand in hooker Lachlan Lam busted the Cowboys up the middle.

Cowboys great Johnathan Thurston called the side’s second half “diabolical”.

Incredibly, the Cowboys also had more tackles in their own 20m than the Roosters, a crazy stat considering the complete domination.

There was no support on social media either as the fans hammered the Cowboys’ horror second half.

I deadset reckon the Cowboys would lose to Broncos next week if they were playing, I really do #nrl
— Luke McGarry (@LukeMcGarry7) July 9, 2020

This is getting embarrassing. Roosters are scoring every time they get the ball. Some absolute rubbish from Cowboys.
— Brent Read (@brentread_7) July 9, 2020