How good are the Cowboys going this year, they've been great.
Nobody gave them a chance after the past couple of years and were one of the fav's for the spoon.
Now there in the top 4 and have been most of the year, they've just won 2 from 3 with Thurston which they couldn't do before and Matty Bowen is back to some great form. They got rid of the rep players likes O'Donnell and Carl Webb and brought in guys like the Sims bro's, Glenn Hall, Gav Cooper and there pack is solid. Dallas Johnson has tightened up their defence around the middle, they've got Brent Tate back fit and Tonga on the otherside. The young winger Faifai Loa is a real find for them aswell. They got Corey Paterson mid-season from the Knights and he's scored 3 in 3 and looked a great buy so far, Matt Scott and Tamou at prop are two monsters that eat up the metres every week. Payne has looked more like his old self this season but i think they look more dangerous when Segeyaro comes on, he's a great little player.
They've got JT to come back, Winterstein is gone for the season which is a shame but Tate is back luckily, Scott Bolton will struggle to get back in when he comes back from injury as who would they drop?
Tariq Sims is a real find for them, some of the hits he puts in are bone rattlers and he can break the line, good off-load, he's got the lot and it's only his first season.
I dont think they'll win the GF but i'm glad they are finally showing there potential.

Yet another win for the Cowboys withot Thurston. That's 3 wins from 4 while JT has been out and they've just beat the Panthers 30-18 with Young Ben Jones at 7 with Ray Thompson at 6. Their a bit inconsistent but Matty Bowen is leading the way for them and controlling things, doing all the kicking and just being the leader for them.
Put's them upto 3rd on the ladder although the Dragons have a game to play this weekend but well done Cowboys. Good to see Brent Tate back playing and scoring tries after the injuries he's had and Corey Paterson looks a real steal from the Knights, wonder why Bennett didn't want him. He's a player who can break the line and get an off-load away.
Also very impressed with Segeyaro again at hooker, he keeps playing the way he is then Aaron Payne will be struggling ti get much game time.

They do have something about them again don't they.

Highest try scorers in the comp I think........if they could just tighten up a bit more in defence they'd be a good better for the Grand Final

Because we're missing JT and have had Michael Morgan at 7 he's been dropped as he was getting run over the top of and offering nothing in attack. Now Ben Jones is in a 7 but they still struggle down that side as Jones is poor in defence and it's a new combo with Willie Tonga who has also been poor defensively but his mind will have been elsewhere(signing with the Eels for 2012).
On the other side it's Ray Thompson at 6 with Brent Tate at centre and Ash Graham on the wing, Graham is shocking at bombs and teams know it so he gets targeted. Ray Thompson has now had 2 years almost in first grade playing alongside the games best half in Thurston but he's just not cutting it for me. He makes 20 odd tackles a game but misses his fair share, he's good at running the ball but he's running it like twice a game for about 5m whether JT plays or not. He was meant to be a boom rookie when he came into grade but has shown nothing to suggest he'll make it. 5/8th has been a massive problem for the Cowboys for a number of years and it still is, they were chasing Bird then Anasta so they cant be happy with Thompson so at least they know what's needed but some good coaching and he could be a great foil for JT, he gets the ball and just passes to the next man, creates nothing and has no kicking game. With JT out injured Matty Bowen has been taking control and that takes his running game away. They've done great since JT got injured, 3 from 4 but it wont last until JT comes back.
Big guys that have been great buys like Gav Cooper have done awsome but late on he gets lazy in defence as he's playing too long minutes.
Tarqi Sims has been the stand out for them apart from JT and Faifai Loa has been a great buy aswell.
There 3rd on the ladder but need to sort their defence out to have any chance in the finals, theTigers blew them off the park in Townsville a couple of weeks back and it's something Neil Henry and Peter Ryan need to work on in the coming week. Corey Paterson has also been a great buy for them so far.