Parramatta stunned as Cowboys Stampede

The stage has been set for a surprise Cinderella NRL grand final next week as North Queensland stampeded all over a shell-shocked minor premier Parramatta 29-0 to secure their place in the big game.

The Eels stumbled out of the blocks and never recovered in the 80 minutes, and were outscored five tries to nil in a whitewash. The minor premiers simply lost their calm and in the end resulted in their sixth loss from the last eight outings at the Olympic Stadium.

However, mistakes were the mark of this game as both sides made numerous errors in the early stages of the game, with the Cowboys having a try taken back in the 12th minute on a forward pass followed by a missed penalty goal off a Glenn Morrison high tackle. Further tries by Rod Jensen and Brett Firman before the half blew the lead out to 18.

Parramatta's defence was simply not up to the standard of the day, and was continuously run down as Ty Williams and Josh Hannay added further tries in the second half, with Hannay converting four of five, while Johnathan Thurston added a field goal to complete the scoring ledger. The Eels came close to breaking the goose egg when Mark Riddell almost punched through for a score, but it was not to be as he was held up at the line.

"It's great," said North Queensland coach Graham Murray of the win.

"One of the things I have said to the players during the finals series is 'make the people of North Queensland proud' and we've done that. I thought we were pretty dominant and played some really good football. Our defence was outstanding."

Tim Smith was forced to leave the game from a head wound courtesy of a Luke O'Donnell high shot which was put on report, while Cowboys skipper Travis Norton is likely to be in doubt for the Cowboys as he too left the field early in the second half with a muscle tear in the back.

The Cowboys and their supporters will now prepare for their return trip to Telstra Stadium next week, while the Eels return to the end of the river to and wonder of a season that could have been.

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