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Cowboys light up Twitter with NRL Finals win over Roosters

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NRL Twitter recap

THE field for the 2017 NRL Premiership was halved again over the weekend in the penultimate round of finals fixtures.

The Brisbane Broncos were boosted by some big inclusions as they made the long journey south to face the premiership favourites at AAMI Park.

The busted hamstring of Darius Boyd made things difficult for the visitors, but they battled manfully to keep the Melbourne Storm to an 8-0 scoreline at half-time.

That was about as good as things got for Wayne Bennett’s men.

The Storm were scratchy in the opening 40 minutes, but they turned it on after the break as they romped to a 30-0 win.

It is the seventh time in 12 years that Melbourne have reached the NRL Grand Final.

It was a bittersweet night for Storm fans.

Cooper Cronk played his last game in front of a Victorian home crowd, as did Tohu Harris and Jordan McLean.

But it was another big night for Storm skipper Cameron Smith, who notched his 1000th goal in the NRL Premiership.

The Sydney Roosters started the weekend as $1.38 favourites in the head-to-head betting at Sportsbet.com.au.

Nevertheless, they finished it as one of 14 teams that will not be appearing in the decider next Sunday.

Instead it was the North Queensland Cowboys who triumphed in another epic chapter of this year’s true underdog story.

It seems an age ago now, but Paul Green’s men only scraped into the top eight because St George Illawarra lost on the last day of the regular season.

Now, despite missing the irreplaceable Johnathan Thurston, they have an opportunity to stage one of the all-time great upsets.

That narrative should be enough to swing the neutral vote firmly in the Cowboys’ favour, especially when one considers the alternative.

Now the question is whether anybody will turn up to watch the GF in Sydney.

Only 25,000-odd ventured to ANZ Stadium for Saturday’s prelim – big numbers by Roosters standards, but well short of expectations for a finals clash.

By comparison, the AFL drew packed houses at both Adelaide Oval and the MCG for a total attendance of just under 150,000 for the weekend.

Things should pick up next week, as the Cowboys and the Storm are two of the best-supported teams in the league.

That said, it remains to be seen whether the many thousands of potential travellers from north of the Tweed can get to the New South Wales capital at all.

Airfares from Townsville have already skyrocketed, and the locals are not happy.

Joining the stranded North Queenslanders in absentia will be Matt Scott.

The Cowboys co-captain was rated a chance for selection at the weekend, but the Cowboys have now ruled him out for the big one.

Coach Green said on Monday that Scott, who has missed the entire season with an ACL injury, would only be considered as a last resort.

Topics: AU, Featured, Melbourne Storm, North Queensland Cowboys, NRL, Promos & Bonuses

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