NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 12 CRONULLA SHARKS 36
CALLUM WALKER, Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Saturday
MEN against boys has perhaps never been more true of an NRL fixture than the one witnessed here.
Cronulla were far too strong, powerful and fast for the Cowboys, who are still waiting for their first triumph of 2025.
The Sharks were on the money from the get go, Kayal Iro dotting down on nine minutes before Briton Nikora extended Cronulla’s lead to 10-0 around the midway point in the first half.
Jaxon Purdue did respond for North Queensland, but Sam Stonestreet cancelled out the winger’s effort barely minutes later as the visitors went into the break holding a 16-6 lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the Cowboys immediately following the resumption, try-scorer Purdue being sinbinned for a professional foul.
And though the Sharks failed to take advantage of that extra man in Purdue’s time off the field, they hit the hosts with two tries in four minutes, Teig Wilton and Ronaldo Mulitalo dotting down either side of the hour.
Their lead grew to 32-6 on 74 minutes as Stonestreet grabbed a second, and though Scott Drinkwater registered a consolation effort with time running out, the fixture firmly belonged to Cronulla with Iro bagging his second.
COWBOYS: 1 Scott Drinkwater, 2 Braidon Burns, 3 Jaxon Purdue, 4 Viliami Vailea, 5 Murray Taulagi, 6 Tom Dearden, 7 Thomas Dufty, 8 Jordan McLean, 9 Reece Robson, 10 Sam McIntyre, 11 John Bateman, 12 Kai O’Donnell, 13 Reuben Cotter. Subs (all used): 14 Karl Lawton, 15 Harrison Edwards, 16 Griffin Neame, 17 Coen Hess
Tries: Purdue (27), Drinkwater (76); Goals: Drinkwater 2/2; Sin bin: Purdue (45) – professional foul
SHARKS: 1 Will Kennedy, 2 Sam Stonestreet, 3 Jesse Ramien, 4 Kayal Iro, 5 Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6 Braydon Trindall, 7 Nicho Hynes, 8 Addin Fonua-Blake, 9 Blayke Brailey, 10 Oregon Kaufusi, 11 Briton Nikora, 12 Teig Wilton, 13 Cameron McInnes. Subs (all used): 14 Daniel Atkinson, 15 Siosifa Talakai, 16 Braden Hamlin-Uele, 18 Tuku Hau Tapuha
Tries: Iro (9, 79), Nikora (24), Stonestreet (30, 74), Wilton (58), Mulitalo (62); Goals: Hynes 4/6, Talakai 0/1
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 6-10, 6-16; 6-22, 6-28, 6-32, 12-32, 12-36
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Cowboys: Scott Drinkwater; Sharks: Kayal Iro
Penalty count: 7-7; Half-time: 6-16; Referee: Liam Kennedy; Attendance: 18,714