Broncos defeat Cowboys in second
half spurt

Fulltime score: Round 10 Cowboys 6 Broncos 23

Match summary: The Brisbane Broncos have avenged last year?s semi-final defeat at the hands of the North Queensland Cowboys with a stirring 23-6 victory at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

In a game that could have easily gone the other way, Broncos coach Wayne Bennett injected Darren Mapp and Casey McGuire at crucial points in the game swinging the momentum to the visitors in the second half. Facing an enormous possession deficit, things eventually worked out for the Broncos, and with the Cowboys unable to break their line in the second half, the Brisbane outfit put four tries on to reverse a losing streak in Townsville.

The game began at beak-neck pace with both teams going hammer and tongs in the first half. The Cowboys got the better of the Broncos with Matt Bowen absolutely outstanding with kicks, kick returns and defusing the many bombs aimed in his direction. In the fifth minute of the game he dummied, stepped and jinked his way through the defence to open the account for the home side.

The rest of the half was an arm wrestle of sorts with some great end to end footy and very few errors. Josh Hannay looks like he could be out for a few weeks after dislocating his shoulder in the 20th minute. This is obviously a cruel blow to the Cowboys with Hannay being an accomplished centre and excellent goalkicker. It may also rule him out of Origin contention.

The second half was a different story though, as Brisbane began to see more or the ball and started playing percentage football. Bott found the line first in the 58th minute to equalise before the game became quite scrappy with players dropping balls and giving away silly penalties. The Broncos got on with the game though as North Queensland appeared to lament their problems.

Casey McGuire?s try in the 66th minute disheartened the home team and then Karmichael Hunt snuck over shortly after to put the game out of reach. Shaun Berrigan fielded a chip over the top in the final minute to seal the victory and the Broncos can now have the week off leading into the first State of Origin game.

The Cowboys also have the bye and they won?t be very happy with their performance. They must now wait a fortnight before they take on the Bulldogs on the Gold Coast to redeem themselves.

Scorers: NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 6 Tries: Bowen Goals: Hannay 1/2 BRISBANE BRONCOS 23 Tries: Bott, McGuire, Hunt, Berrigan Goals: Seymour 3/4 Field goals: Seymour

Dairy Farmers Stadium Referee: Russell Smith Crowd: 22,477

Live commentary:

Here we are in Far North Queensland with a real grudge match on our hands in front of a sell out crowd. The Cowboys to kick off and we're underway in the first half!

4 min: No score yet but the opening exchanges have been very physical with no errors. It appears as though we're in for a cracking contest.

5 min: TRY - Cowobys. That man Matt Bowen slices through the defence with a dummy and good turn of pace to score the opening try. He brings it around under the posts which makes the job easy for Josh Hannay who converts. Cowboys lead 6-0.

10 min: Penalty. Bott ruled offside and the Cowboys go for the two points on offer but Hannay hits the post and the ball flays back into the field of play. Exciting stuff so far.

13 min: Brilliant work from Hunt who returns the ball from his in-goal area under a mountain of pressure, using one of his trademark sidesteps.

20 min: Hannay looks to have dislocated his shoulder in an awkward tackle. He has left the field and won't return. Huge blow to the Cowboys who are performing well at the moment.

23 min: Great 40-20 by Matt Bowen sees the Cowboys pressure the Broncos line.

32 min: Bowen being tested repeatedly at the back and has yet to err. His kicking game is also going well. Game settling into a pattern of end to end footy. Very few errors or indiscretions. Hunt playing well as is Petero. Thurston doing well for the home side.

35 min: Bott into touch for the second time tonight. The young fella has plenty of pace but not too much respect for the sideline.

38 min: Lockyer is having an unhappy first half and is penalised by the ref for dissent.

Half time: A tough and uncompromising half of footy up here in Townsville. There has been plenty of action with a few breaks, some big hits and a fairly serious injury. Brisbane look stifled and don't appear to be applying the correct tactics to the game right now. The Cowboys look like they're trying to wear down their opposition but at the same time have had to do plenty of work themselves. It should be an intriguing second half with the Broncos being held scoreless the last time they played here. One gets the feeling a few tensions may also boil over.

...And we're back with the Broncos getting us underway in the second half!

Carl Webb has a "Q" shaved into the side of his head in another one of his eclectic hair-do's. Also, Rockin' Rod Jensen is playing centre in place of the injured Hannay.

45 min: Games stopped so Paul Bowman can lace-up his boot. Brisbane attack North Queensland's line througha mistake by Ty Williams.

48 min: Crowd announced as 22,477. Some errors creeping into both teams here with some sloppy play the balls.

54 min: Well people are dropping the ball as though it has spiders on it. Terrible display in the second half so far. O'Donnell down for the Cowboys whilst Hannay ices his shoulder on the sideline.

58 min: TRY - Broncos. Bott goes over in the north-western corner after Lockyer kicks the ball into a Cowboys player before it ricochets back for him and he finds the nuggety winger. Possession flowing back to the Broncos at the moment. Seymour converts from the sideline with a beauty despite the raucous attention from the crowd. Scores locked up at 6-all and this one may well go down to the wire.

64 min: Broncos building momentum here and have forced another drop-out. Cowboys look a little out of puff, it has been absorbing to say the least.

66 min: TRY - Broncos. Lockyer gives a gem of a ball to Casey McGuire and he strolls through to score. Seymour puts it bewtween the sticks and the Broncos lead 12-6.

69 min: TRY - Broncos. Hunt scampers out from dummy half and scores next to the posts for Brisbane. They look like they're wrapped it up with that. Seymour makes light work of the extras and the score is Broncos 18 Cowboys 6.

74 min: Field goal - Broncos. Seymour rushes into a drop goal about 25m out and sneaks it over the black dot. Broncos lead 19-6 and can't be stopped now.

80 min: TRY - Broncos. Shaun Berrigan fields a Lockyer kick into the in-goal area and seals the victory. Seymour fails with his final attempt and the Broncos beat the Cowboys 23-6.

Full time: A great second half comeback from the Broncos and they remain at the top of the table. North Queensland have slumped to their second loss in a row and their first at home since July 2004.

----------------------------------------- Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - M Bowen (Cowboys) 2 - K Hunt (Broncos) 1 - D Lockyer (Broncos) -----------------------------------------