Cowboys Storm into all Queensland Grand Final

Jonathan Thurston has lead the North Queensland Cowboys through to their second Grand Final in 10 years after they defeated the Melbourne Storm 32-12 in front of a sellout crowd at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

Cowboys co-captains Jonathan Thurston and Matt Scott lead the way for North Queensland with Jonathan Thurston setting up 3 crucial tries in a composed and measured performance from the red hot Dally M favourite.

Thurston was however bothered with a groin injury and did leave the field with 10 minutes remaining as precaution. Even when he was struggling, he still managed to put his usual hole runner Gavin Cooper over for the final try of the match.

Five-eighth Michael Morgan and former Melbourne centre Justin O'Neil both scored doubles in a memorable night for the club. Test prop James Tamou was also outstanding and along with Co-captain Scott, who both set the platform for North Queensland to run away with the game in the second half.

North Queensland had the better of the opening exchanges but it was the Melbourne Storm who took their opportunity, when Storm half Cooper Cronk took the line on the score the first try of the evening.

The Cowboys hit back a few minutes later when Jonathan Thurston placed a deft grubber behind the line for a flying Justin O'Neil who scored his first of two tries for the night. Thurston missed the conversion with an awful attempt, which raised questions about whether his groin injury was in fact 100%.

Six minutes later it was Thurston and Justin O'Neil combining again, when Thurston hit O'Neil with a superb flat ball for O'Neil to grab his second try. Thurston added the extras and the Cowboys lead 10-6.

The game continued to see saw before Tohu Harris ran a good line off Cooper Cronk and then showed great strength to get the ball down to make it 12-10 after Smith added the extras with 6 minutes remaining in the half.

With the halftime siren looming, Jonathan Thurston kicked across field to an isolated Matt Duffie, who went to kick the ball away in a desperate attempt which he missed and the ball got tangled up in the legs of Antonio Winterstein. The ball then bounced up perfectly for an onside Gavin Cooper who scored in the corner in a huge confidence boost to the visitors as they took the lead 16-12 at the break.

The Cowboys looked to be off to a flier in the second half with Winterstein scoring in the corner after some slick hands from Thurston and Lachlan Coote. However referee Matt Chechin send the decision upstairs as a ‘no try' due to interference from Kane Linnett on Will Chambers in the lead up. The video referees agreed and the Cowboys were denied a dream start to the second half.

The turning point came in the 53rd minute when Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt fell to the ground but as he wasn't held, he managed to flick the ball to Thurston who found Justin O'Neil who raced away to set up an unmarked Michael Morgan who dived over for a try. Replays showed that Storm winger Marika Koroibete was scuffling with Feldt in back play and then threw a punch at Feldt. Referee Cechin was left with no choice but to send Koroibete to the Sin Bin due to the NRL's no punching policy.

With Melbourne down to 12 men, North Queensland made them pay when veteran prop Ben Hannant charged down a Cooper Cronk kick which bounced up perfectly for Gavin Cooper who found the speedy Michael Morgan who raced away for his second try in 3 minutes. Thurston added the extras to extend the lead to 26-12 and from there the Cowboys were never headed.

Man of the Match Thurston despite struggling with a groin injury still managed to put over his reliable sidekick Gavin Cooper to crash over for the final try in the 69th minute to put the result beyond doubt.

North Queensland now face big brother Brisbane in the first all Queensland Grand Final next Sunday at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

Match Details

Melbourne Storm 12 North Queensland Cowboys 32
Venue: AAMI Park
Crowd: 29315
Halftime Score: Melbourne Storm 12 North Queensland Cowboys 16

MELBOURNE STORM (12)
Tries: Cooper Cronk, Tohu Harris
Conversions: Cameron Smith (2/2)

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS (32)
Tries: Justin O'Neill (2), Gavin Cooper (2), Michael Morgan (2)
Conversions: Johnathan Thurston (4/6)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Johnathan Thurston
2 points - James Tamou
1 point - Matthew Scott

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Welcome to a sold out AAMI Park in Melbourne, where the Melbourne Storm host the North Queensland Cowboys for the right to meet the Brisbane Broncos in the 2015 NRL Grand Final.

Melbourne have made one change to their starting side with Jordan McLean to start in the front row for Tim Glasby was the case in their last start victory over the Roosters.

North Queensland are 1-17, making no changes to the side that thrashed Cronulla last weekend.

Melbourne are looking to make their first Grand Final appearance since they were crowned premiers in 2012, while North Queensland last made a Grand Final in 2005.

Marika Koroibete was expected to be ruled out with a laceration to his achilles but has been named to play.

The match ups in the key positions are going to be the highlight of this game; Cronk vs Thurston, Smith vs Granville, Bromwich vs Scott, Munster vs Coote, Green vs Morgan. Some of 2015's form players in the NRL.

We are underway in the Preliminary Final! Cowboys receive the ball!

1: Great first set from the Cowboys. They roll into the Storm half and test Cameron Munster with a bomb on the last. He makes no mistake.

3: Cowboys on the attack early and Thurston places a deft grubber behind the line but Munster is in perfect position and stays in the field of play.

4: Penalty Cowboys - Winterstein dragged into touch after the refs call of held. Cowboys tap 15m out.

5: VIDEO REF - No Try! Winterstein scores in the corner but Kane Linnett has been ruled to have interfered with Will Chambers in the lead up.

6: Storm on the attack for the first time tonight but Cooper Cronk finds Winterstein on the full in goal. 20m tap Cowboys.

7: Penalty Storm - Linnett penalised for taking Matt Duffie off the ball. Silly play. Storm on the attack 20m out.

9: TRY MELBOURNE STORM
Scored by Cooper Cronk. Kick to come.
Cooper Cronk makes the Cowboys pay. He takes the ball to the line, steps off the right foot and scores. Melbourne lead 4-0 kick to come.

10: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MELBOURNE STORM
Conversion attempt by Cameron Smith successful.
Smith knocks it over. 6-0 Storm.

12: Penalty Cowboys - Bromwich not getting back the 10m. Cowboys tap 40m out.

13: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Justin O'Neill. Kick to come.
Justin O'Neil gets a try against his former club! Perfect grubber from Thurston, who finds a flying O'Neil. 6-4 kick to come.

14: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston unsuccessful.
Thurston misses! Totally not like JT in such a big match!

16: Thurston puts Cooper through a gap and Cameron Munster knocks down the pass from Cooper to Winterstein. Try saver!

17: Thurston grubbers in goal and the defence trap Chambers in goal. Line drop out Melbourne.

19: Granville now grubbers in behind the line and Koroibete just gets there and knocks it dead. Great pressure from the Cowboys. Another line drop out for Melbourne.

20: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Justin O'Neill. Kick to come.
Thurston hits O'Neil on the chest with a superb flat ball and he scores his second! Cowboys hit the lead!

21: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
He doesn't miss this time. Cowboys lead 10-6.

24: Cronk bombs to the north western corner but Kyle Feldt gets the jump on Koroibete.

25: Kyle Feldt juggles a bomb this time but is ruled to have not knocked on. Storm fans boo but its the correct call.

25: Video Ref - NO TRY! Morgan bombs to Duffie who knocks it back. Scott Bolton picks it up but drops it over the line! 20m re-start to Melbourne.

27: Great set from the Storm finished with Cronk grubbering in goal and it's battered dead by Lachlan Coote. Line drop out Cowboys.

27: UNFORCED ERROR MELBOURNE STORM
Jesse Bromwich makes an unforced error.
Bromwich knocks on 2nd tackle. Huge let off for North Queensland!

28: Cowboys on the attack and Thurston is crunched by Cronk! Great tackle.

29: Penalty Storm - Ethan Lowe ruled to have had his hands on the ball. Storm on the attack 30m out from the Cowboys line!

31: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Antonio Winterstein makes an unforced error.
Charge down by Thurston but it comes off him towards the sideline and Winterstein goes into touch with it. Storm a big chance here!

32: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Kyle Feldt makes an unforced error.
Storm shift wide and the pass to Koroibete is knocked down by Feldt. Had to do it.

33: TRY MELBOURNE STORM
Scored by Tohu Harris. Kick to come.
Tohu Harris scores a great try, showing great strength to get over the line after a neat pass from Cronk. 10 all kick to come.

36: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION MELBOURNE STORM
Conversion attempt by Cameron Smith successful.
Smith puts the Storm in front 12-10.

36: The seagulls were in the way of Smith's conversion, so JT chased them off for him. Funny stuff.

38: Superb kick from Lachlan Coote in goal, however Matt Duffie is equal to the task and gets back into the field of play.

39: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Gavin Cooper. Kick to come.
VIDEO REF - TRY! Thurston kicks across field to numbers out wide. Matt Duffie goes for a kick and it misses him get tangled up in Winterstein's legs. Cooper picks it up and scores! Crucial play!

39: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Class act! Thurston lands it from the sideline! It's Cowboys 16-12 at halftime.

40: It's halftime at AAMI Park in Melbourne, with the Cowboys leading 16-12 in a see-sawing affair. North Queensland had the better of the opening exchanges, however Melbourne took their opportunity with Cooper Cronk scoring the first try. North Queensland hit back with former Storm centre Justin O'Neil bagging a first half double. Melbourne hit back with a strong try to Tohu Harris to nudge them in front before Gavin Cooper scored a crucial try right on halftime.
Cowboys leadtime at half but there is nothing in it! We are set for an absolute classic second half with both sides on their games tonight! The winner goes through to the big dance on Sunday night against Brisbane. It's all or nothing!

40: We are underway in the 2nd Half! Who is going to the Grand Final?

41: Penalty Cowboys - Strong defence from Melbourne early in the second half but Glasby is ruled offside. Cowboys tap 20m out,

43: Thurston bombs across field but it is battered down into the arms of Kevin Proctor. Well defended set from the Storm.

45: Cowboys now really muscling up in defence, as the Storm fail to make it past halfway. Then the ball goes to Dale Finucane on the last!

46: Injury Update - Antonio Winterstein has left the field after colliding with Duffie. Concussion test.

46: Penalty Storm - Kostjasyn hits Munster late. Storm march over halfway.

49: Good end to the set from Melbourne. Smith grubbers in goal and Coote has to force it dead. Line drop out Cowboys.

50: UNFORCED ERROR MELBOURNE STORM
Jordan McLean makes an unforced error.
Jordan McLean spills the ball on tackle 2.

51: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Kane Linnett makes an unforced error.
Now Linnett loses the ball on tackle 2. Storm feed the scrum 35m out.

52: Blake Green nudges the ball in the in goal and it goes dead! Cowboys with the 20m re-start. Huge let off for North Queensland.

53: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Michael Morgan. Kick to come.
VIDEO REF - TRY! Michael Morgan scores in the corner after Feldt flicks the ball off the ground but is not held. Thurston shifts it to O'Neil who finds Morgan who scores.

53: SIN BIN
Marika Koroibete is sent to the sin bin.
Koroibete has got up scuffling with Feldt and has thrown a punch and the ref has given him 10 in the bin!

53: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston unsuccessful.
Thurston misses the conversion. Cowboys lead 20-12 with the Storm down to 12 men.

56: VIDEO REF - TRY! Morgan scores his second try in a matter of minutes. Ben Hannant charges down a Cooper Cronk kick which bounces into the hands of Gavin Cooper, who finds Morgan who races away to extend the lead to 24-12, kick to come.

56: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Michael Morgan. Kick to come.
Morgan races away!

56: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Thurston adds the extras. North Queensland lead 26-12.

62: Cowboys really turning the screws now. Cronk stops a Thurston grubber short of the line and makes it back into the field of play.

63: James Tamou has gone down. Unfortunately it's his neck that's hit the ground and he's got up fired up.

63: Koroibete back on...the damage may be done.

63: Thurston grubbers through again and Munster forces it dead. Line drop out Melbourne and they are starting to look very tired.

67: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
John Asiata makes an unforced error.
Asiata gets a deflected grubber but can't hold on. Would have scored had he pulled it off.

68: Thurston limping around the field. His groin injury looks to be an issue.

69: TRY NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Scored by Gavin Cooper. Kick to come.
Thurston manages to still put Cooper over for a try and the Cowboys are through to the GF!!

70: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Conversion attempt by Johnathan Thurston successful.
Thurston makes it 32-12 and he calls it a night as he makes his way from the field.

71: Penalty Cowboys - Cooper cops a high shot from Jesse Bromwich. Cowboys tap 40m out.

72: UNFORCED ERROR MELBOURNE STORM
Marika Koroibete makes an unforced error.
Koroibete ruled to have knocked on.

74: Storm on the attack and Cronk kicks across field but it's taken on the full in goal by Kyle Feldt. 20m re-start.

75: UNFORCED ERROR NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
Matthew Scott makes an unforced error.
Great shot from Asofa-Solomona on Matt Scott who drops the ball.

76: UNFORCED ERROR MELBOURNE STORM
Cooper Cronk makes an unforced error.
Cronk chases through a kick and ruled to have knocked on. Cowboys make their way towards halfway.

77: Granville rolls a kick into the in goal and it goes dead. 20m tap to the Storm.

79: Koroibete breaks a tackle and finds Duffie who is brought down.

80: North Queensland are through to their second Grand Final in the club's history defeating the Storm 32-12.