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5 hours ago | Rhys Sullivan
With Johnathan Thurston missing injured, the Melbourne Storm brought down the North Queensland Cowboys 16-8 in Townsville tonight.
The loss puts North Queensland on the edge of the top four and propels Melbourne to the top of the ladder, likely securing a home semi-final.
For the entire game it was a close contest on the scoreboard, as the Storm never led by more than the final margin of eight points.
Paul Green's men got plenty of opportunities in attack but their fifth tackle execution was dysfunctional and failed to build on pressure on the visitors.
What North Queensland missed through Thurston, Cooper Cronk provided for the Storm as his dominating display kept the game in their control.
The Cowboys also let their ball control slip in the second half as they only completed eight of 20 sets; a half that finished scoreless for both teams.
In front of 20 256, the second biggest crowd of the year at 1300SMILES Stadium, the Storm's forwards matched it with North Queensland and Kevin Proctor was the first try scorer.
A flat pass from Cronk at the try line set Proctor in position to break two defenders and score, making it 4-2 after nine minutes.
Three minutes later the Storm had more attacking field position after a penalty and some acrobatics from Marika Koroibete on the left wing allowed the Fijian to plant the ball for a try while the rest of his body was floating in mid-air over the sideline.
With the score at 10-2 in Melbourne's favour 28 minutes into the first half, the Cowboys took advantage of a goal line dropout when Lachlan Coote and Kane Linnett from five metres out provided quick passing for Antonio Winterstein to cross in the corner.
The final scoring play of the game came four minutes later when the Storm responded through Tim Glasby running down a Cronk grubber kick around the posts.
Glasby was added to the side at the last minute, having been cleared to recover from a five week injury layoff.
The home crowd were on edge when Koroibete sprinted 70 metres down field from a kick return in the second half.
Covering North Queensland defenders stopped him but Suliasi Vunivalu had an opportunity moments later to score from the play and he dropped the ball.
Hopefully for the Cowboys Thurston is able to return for their game against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval next Sunday. While the Storm have a home fixture with the South Sydney Rabbitohs next Saturday night.
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