We’re counting down our final season at our inaugural home ground – with just eight regular season home games left at 1300SMILES Stadium, we take a look at the rivalry played out in North Queensland between the Toyota Cowboys and the Gold Coast Titans.
History
Meetings – 11
Head to head – Cowboys 8 wins, Titans 3 wins
Biggest victories – Cowboys def. Titans 42-12 in Rd 26, 2015; Titans def. Cowboys 18-nil in Rd 1, 2012
First meeting
2008 – Round 23: Titans def. Cowboys 26-20
The Titans first ever trip to North Queensland resulted in a thriller between the NRL newcomers and the Cowboys. Two tries to second-rower Anthony Laffranchi lead the Titans to a six-point victory after the scores were locked at 14-all going into half-time. Luke O’Donnell, Dayne Weston, John Williams and Ty Williams scored tries for the Cowboys in front of a home crowd of 17,605.
Highlight
2015 – Round 26: Cowboys def. Titans 42-12
On the march to their historic maiden premiership, the 2015 Cowboys finished the regular season in emphatic fashion. Johnathan Thurston and the Cowboys vaunted left-side attack ran riot with centre Kane Linnett and winger Antonio Winterstein both bagging doubles, while second-rower Gavin Cooper also scored. Lachlan Coote, Jake Granville, James Tamou and Ray Thompson also crossed the stripe in the rout. The game was actually in the balance at half-time, with the Cowboys holding a slender 16-12 lead, but Paul Green’s men produced 26 unanswered points in the second half.
Last regular season game
2018 – Round 7: Cowboys def. Titans 26-14
On the back of five consecutive losses, the Cowboys finally released the shackles against their Queensland rivals. Kyle Feldt, Ben Hampton, Coen Hess and Jason Taumalolo all bagged tries for the Cowboys, while Johnathan Thurston nailed five goals from seven attempts.
Preview
Both teams have two wins from their first seven games. The Cowboys will be without fullback Te Maire Martin, while Titans skipper Ryan James has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury.
