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Match report

NRL / Round 8

Fri 24 Apr · 6:00pm · Queensland Country Bank Stadium · Crowd 17,886 Full time · HT 26-12
Cowboys 46
vs
Sharks 34
Our tip Cowboys Coin flip 53% ✓ Correct

Cowboys too good

The Cowboys beat the Sharks 46–34 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in front of 17,886 in Round 8. They led 26–12 at half-time and never looked back.

Murray Taulagi scored 3 tries and KL Iro scored 3 tries and Siosifa Talakai scored 2 tries. Tom Dearden (Cowboys) was the standout with 75 fantasy points, 101 run metres, 4 tackle breaks and 1 try. The Cowboys won the metres battle 1,737 to 1,522 and made fewer errors (9 to 10).

Our Final Tip had the Cowboys at 53% (a coin flip) and got it right. The bookies had the other side as favourites, so this one was an upset.

Form before this game · most recent first
Cowboys LWWWW
Sharks LWWLL

Game flow

Cowboys · above Sharks · below
Score 46-34 Line breaks 12·9 Errors 9·10 Penalties 2·4 Six-agains 3·0 0'10'20'30'HT50'60'70'80' 6-0 3' Try + goal 6-6 9' Try + goal 6-12 11' Try + goal 10-12 14' Try 16-12 27' Try + goal 22-12 33' Try + goal 26-12 38' Try 26-18 44' Try + goal 30-18 51' Try 30-22 54' Try 30-28 57' Try + goal 36-28 66' Try + goal 42-28 73' Try + goal 42-34 75' Try + goal 46-34 79' Try
Show scoring as a table
MinTeamPlayerEventScore
3'CowboysScott Drinkwater Try4–0
5'CowboysJake Clifford Conversion6–0
9'SharksSiosifa Talakai Try6–4
10'SharksNicholas Hynes Conversion6–6
11'SharksSiosifa Talakai Try6–10
13'SharksNicholas Hynes Conversion6–12
14'CowboysMurray Taulagi Try10–12
27'CowboysMurray Taulagi Try14–12
29'CowboysJake Clifford Conversion16–12
33'CowboysReed Mahoney Try20–12
35'CowboysJake Clifford Conversion22–12
38'CowboysBraidon Burns Try26–12
44'SharksBlayke Brailey Try26–16
45'SharksNicholas Hynes Conversion26–18
51'CowboysMurray Taulagi Try30–18
54'SharksKL Iro Try30–22
57'SharksKL Iro Try30–26
58'SharksNicholas Hynes Conversion30–28
66'CowboysSoni Luke Try34–28
67'CowboysJake Clifford Conversion36–28
73'CowboysTom Dearden Try40–28
74'CowboysJake Clifford Conversion42–28
75'SharksKL Iro Try42–32
76'SharksNicholas Hynes Conversion42–34
79'CowboysHeilum Luki Try46–34

Team stats

Better on the day
CowboysSharks
51% Possession 49%
80% Completion rate 80%
1,737 Run metres 1,522
463 Post-contact metres 554
12 Line breaks 9
36 Tackle breaks 25
9 Offloads 9
527 Kick metres 551
89.5% Effective tackle % 86.0%
25 Missed tackles 36
9 Errors 10
2 Penalties conceded 4
DisciplinePenalties + six-agains
NQLCRO
Six-again (ruck)
Dangerous Tackle
Escorts
Hand in the Ruck
Offside General
Offside inside 10m
Other
Total 5 4

Positional battles

Combined numbers per position group · more fantasy points takes the battle

Fullbacks

NQL 64-44
Drinkwater Kennedy
172 Run metres 152
59 Kick return metres 43
5 Tackle breaks 4
1 Line breaks 0

Halves

NQL 128-80
Clifford, Dearden Trindall, Hynes
2 Try assists 2
3 Line-break assists 2
264 Kick metres 551
0 Errors 1

Hookers

CRO 71-35
Mahoney Brailey
26 Tackles 44
49 Run metres 44
60 Passes 116
2 Errors 1

Middles

NQL 112-106
Hess, Taumalolo, Cotter Fonua-Blake, Rudolf, Colquhoun
296 Run metres 296
112 Post-contact metres 119
76 Tackles 65
6 Missed tackles 8

Back row

NQL 99-63
Luki, Nanai Burns, Wilton
186 Run metres 103
3 Tackle breaks 0
62 Tackles 60
1 Missed tackles 7

Outside backs

Burns, Purdue, Chester, Taulagi Hiroti, Talakai, Iro, Stonestreet
531 Run metres 649
7 Line breaks 6
4 Tries 5
3 Errors 4

Best performers

Fantasy points
NQL Tom Dearden 75
CRO Blayke Brailey 71
CRO Siosifa Talakai 70
NQL Heilum Luki 69
CRO Kayal Iro 68
NQL Scott Drinkwater 64
CRO Nicholas Hynes 63
NQL Tom Chester 62
Show performers as a table
PlayerTeamFantasyRun m Tackle breaksLine breaksTries Try assistsTackles
Tom DeardenCowboys75 1014 11 122
Blayke BraileySharks71 441 11 044
Siosifa TalakaiSharks70 1948 12 015
Heilum LukiCowboys69 1253 01 039
Kayal IroSharks68 1741 33 023
Scott DrinkwaterCowboys64 1725 11 33
Nicholas HynesSharks63 540 20 221
Tom ChesterCowboys62 1724 20 012

Head-to-head

Last 5 before this one · Cowboys 1 - 4 Sharks
2025 R22Sharks home NQL 12 32 CRO Sharks by 20
2025 R2Cowboys home NQL 12 36 CRO Sharks by 24
2024 FW2Sharks home NQL 18 26 CRO Sharks by 8
2024 R21Cowboys home NQL 30 22 CRO Cowboys by 8
2024 R7Sharks home NQL 6 42 CRO Sharks by 36

How we tipped it

Chance each model gave the Cowboys · right of 50% = tipped the winner

← Tipped the loser Tipped the winner → Season Final Tip 32/58 (55%) Bookies 31/58 (53%) Hot Scoring 30/58 (52%) Ladder 30/58 (52%) Power Rating 33/58 (57%) Quality Form 33/58 (57%) Recent Form 32/58 (55%) Scoring 31/58 (53%) Stat Blend 30/58 (52%) 0%25%50%75%100%

Generated automatically from nrl.com match data and our own models · 2026-09-25 05:16:27 UTC