Crowd: 14293
Possession: NQ 63%
Ref: S. Hayne, penalties NQ 7-5

Despite missing a number of key players and personnel, the Nth Queensland Cowboys have clobbered Saints by 34-10 in Townsville. The Cowboys blitzed Saints in an 8 minute period in the first half which saw them race away to a 16-4 halftime lead. The Cowboys have shown again that at home, they are a force to be reckoned with their 6 try to 2 drubbing of an ordinary and disinterested looking Dragons outfit. The Cowboys simply controlled the ball better while the Dragons made far too many handling errors. Saints conceded a number of soft tries through defensive laspes brought about by having less than 38% of the ball. Best players on the field were all NQ players with

MATCH REPORT (BY THE CLOCK): 
5 min: Try Hanny. Conversion Jones. NQ 6-0
10 min: Morrison knocks on over tryline while contesting ball but almost scores. After 10 minutes, the penalties favour NQ 4-0 plus Saints have knocked on twice. All the possession is with the Cowboys.
13 min: Terrible pass from Willie Peters inside own 20m area sees Saints surrender possession again.
14 min: Try Jones. Very soft. Conversion Leis. NQ 12-0
21 min: No try to Leikvoll who was marginally in front of a Blacklock grubber kick.
22 min: Penalties 5-0 in favour of NQ.
23 min: Mark Gasnier almost scores but the touchie calls the play back after it was deemed that Amos Roberts put a foot into touch.
24 min: Saints re-gain rare possession but Gasnier allows himself to be tackled into touch by Bowman and Co.
27 min: Riddell puts a kick into the NQ in-goal but the chase is simply not good enough.
30 min: Saints 1st penalty against NQ offside. Penalties now 5-1
32 min: Barrett chips over the top and Blacklock applies pressure. Saints get 6 again.
33 min: Try Ainscough. Scored out wide looked like a forward pass but we'll take it. Conversion attempt from Riddell unsuccessful. NQ 12-4
35 min: Lance Thompson driven into touch by Bowman.
36 min: Try Morrison. From scrum base, NQ send it wide and Morrison runs over the top of would be defenders. Amos Roberts at fullback is no where to be seen. Conversion attempt by Leis misses. NQ 16-4
40 min: On half time, Barrett simply kicks the ball into touch. Can't wait to get off.
HALF TIME NQ 16-4
41 min: Saints error in first set of six with Peters losing ball. Blacklock pulls off a miracle try saving tackle.
42 min: Ainscough fields grubber in-goal and does well to get it back despite numerous defenders.
45 min: Saints get 2nd penalty and actually look to be a chance of mounting a comeback.
46 min: McGregor doesn't pass to unmarked Ainscough who would have scored instead he passes into touch a moment later.
48 min: Penalty goal Leis. Jason Ryles penalised for taking out kicker. Right in front. NQ 18-4
50 min: Hornby comes on at fullback and Amos is off.
58 min: Leis try. Saints too slow. Hornby too deep. Smart play by Bowen who put in chip kick after seeing that Hornby was miles away. This is the turning point and Saints can't win. Conversion Leis. NQ 24-4
61 min: Barrett passes ball into support player. Timing is out.
62 min: Try Jellick. A pathetic effort by Saints to cover a cross field bomb. No one seriously tried to contest the ball. Hornby looked terrible when trying to chase the 2nd kick through as the try scorer was simply more eager to get to the ball. Conversion attempt from Leis is unsuccessful. NQ 28-4
63 min: Hornby hooked by coach.
68 min: Saints bomb try and are then penalised for offside. NQ on the other hand are still backing up well.
70 min: For the first time in the match, Saints trap the NQ fullback behind his own tryline.
74 min: Try Blacklock. His 92nd in 100 games and his 22nd for 2001. This was a good try and arguably the best of the match. Roberts took the ball up from a kick deep in his own half and passed it to Ainscough who made a bust up the middle. Ainscough found Roberts backing up on the inside and he left the defence grasping as he turned on the speed. Blacklock loomed up on the outside to take the final pass and sprinted around the cover defence to score out wide. Conversion Riddell....excellent kick. NQ 28-10
77 min: McGregor fumbles and is pushed into touch. Costly error. Barrett is limping.
79 min: Try Bowman. Well deserved try to Bowman who must have been close to the best player on the field. Gatis splits some poor Saints defence from 60 m out and sets up Bowman to score. Conversion Leis. NQ 34-10
FULL TIME: NQ 34-10

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Mark Riddell	Jamie Ainscough scores
Jamie Ainscough makes a bust	Amos Roberts backs and looks for support
Nathan Blacklock is there to score