The North Queensland Cowboys have returned to the winners circle in the opening match of round 13, finishing fast to record a 26 point win over the lowly Gold Coast Titans.
The Cowboys came into this clash with significantly more talent on the sidelines due to State of Origin, the northernmost club missing the likes of Val Holmes, Tom Dearden, Jeremiah Nanai and Reuben Cotter.
It looked as if the Titans, who themselves were missing skipper Tino Faasuamaleaui, were going to take advantage of the big name outs of their Queensland rival, dominating possession early and taking a 6-0 lead courtesy of Brimson connecting with his halves partner Sexton in the 15th minute.
For the second week in a row however, the Titans couldn't go on with it, the opposition comeback coming a little earlier in this one though. Heilum Luki ran a solid line and reached out to score after Sexton kicked out on the full, and the Cowboys advanced up the field with the aid of a 6 again call in the following set, spreading it left to Murray Taulagi, who used Jayden Campbell as a speed bump on his way to the line.
Disaster struck for the Titans when five minutes later, Jamayne Isaako knocked on while making a regulation carry out of his own end. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow toed the ball towards the in-goal area and easily won the race. In the space of ten minutes, a 6 point lead for the Titans had become a 10 point deficit.
The first 30-odd minutes of the second half were an arm wrestle, the Titans again having mountains of possession and field position but predictably not being able to do anything with it. The score was still 16-6 with just over ten minutes left in the match when Reece Robson snuck his way past Jamayne Isaako from dummy half to make it a three score game.
It would've taken some resilience for the Titans to mount a comeback from that position, which is something they don't have a lot of on the Gold Coast. As such, the Cowboys scored two late tries, one from a Drinkwater grubber to Tabuai-Fidow and another when Peta Hiku's change of direction caught five Titans off guard, with the centre going over untouched.
The scoreline ended up blowing out to 32-6 to the Cowboys, a fair indication of where the two sides are at this point of the season.
Next week, the Titans host the Rabbitohs on Saturday Afternoon, while the Cowboys are back at home against the Dragons on Friday Night in prime-time.