Four tries to Gideon Mosby set up a dominant NYC performance by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys against the Melbourne Storm at Jack Manski Oval in Townsville this afternoon.
The Cowboys were a class above their opponents to finish with 10 tries in the 50-6 romp.
Conditions were hot for the mid-afternoon match and it didn’t take long for Todd Payten’s boys to get on the scoreboard.
The Storm's attacking raid was intercepted by winger Gideon Mosby, who ran the length of the field to put the ball down untouched for the opener – Coen Hess added the two.
While the backs shone early, the forwards would grind their way into the contest to roll through the visitors' defence with Viliame Kikau continuing his try-scoring feats.
The Cowboys were out to a 12-0 lead at the 10-minute mark.
Like he had done in the past three games, Brandon Smith was exploiting the holes around the ruck and when he opened up a gap two plays later, Cooper Bambling spread it wide for Hess to add a try to his two conversions.
The Cowboys dominated possession in the early stages of the match as the Storm struggled to put together a complete set.
By the halfway mark the score had blown out to 20-0 when Akeripa Tia Kilifi was on the end of a Bambling cut-out to notch up their fourth try of the half.
The crafty number seven was well in control as he continued to attack the left-hand side of the Storm's defence.
It was only a matter of time before they crossed again, with Mosby adding two more to make it 32-6 as they went for oranges.
Two penalties from the Cowboys from kick off handed the Storm their best attacking opportunity of the match but mistakes continued to cripple Melbourne.
It wasn’t until the 53rd minute that the home side would make another dent in the scoreboard, and for the fourth time it was Mosby who burst on to the ball and crossed the stripe to inflict more pain on the visitors.
The Storm weren’t helping their cause with plenty of mistakes in their own half putting them continually on the back foot.
After back-to-back sets Braden Uele charged through carrying four defenders over the line in the 65th minute to make it 40-6.
Uele and Kikau were chewing up the metres, handing the North Queensland side the perfect attacking base as Conor Carey added his name to the scoresheet only minutes later, as they found success in the air again.
It was a second-half shut-out by the Cowboys as Andrew Niemoeller ensured they’d bring up the half century, the Cowboys with their third-straight win at home.
COWBOYS 50: Tries: Gideon Mosby 4, Viliame Kikau, Akeripa Tia Kilifi, Coen Hess, Braden Uele, Conor Carey, Andrew Niemoeller. Conversions: Coen Hess 6/10.
STORM 6: Try: Tony Tumasa. Conversion: Mack Mason 1/1.
