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Kenny Edwards gets away from Jake Granville and Matthew Scott.
WHO are you and what did you do with the Cowboys?
North Queensland’s premiership defence stumbled at Pirtek Stadium as Parramatta produced a vintage ambush to upstage the reigning champions 20-16.
Co-captain Matt Scott was placed on report and the Cowboys didn’t look like the team that won last year’s gripping grand final against Brisbane to claim the club’s first NRL title.
Coach Paul Green made a crucial change to his starting side, benching dynamite hooker Jake Granville for the first time since Round 4 last year in place of Rory Kostjasyn.
Granville had started the past 26 matches for the Cowboys and his only three previous games watching from the sideline resulted in North Queensland losses.
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Nathan Peats celebrates his opening try against the Cowboys.Source:Getty Images
It was the first time life as the defending premiers hasn’t been rosy for the Cowboys.
Marginal calls went the other way and they were terrible for most of the game, making 15 errors as they completed just 60 per cent of their sets while being on the wrong end of a 10-4 penalty count.
Parramatta put the controversy of the club’s latest salary cap scandal behind them but hooker Nathan Peats’ serious arm injury was a sour note on an otherwise impressive night in front of 12,194.
As good as the Eels were, the Cowboys did themselves no favours with a multitude of errors and penalties.
It’d be unfair to blame Kostjasyn for North Queensland’s clunky attack but they just didn’t click early and struggled to find any rhythm after a slow start.
Johnathan Thurston’s usually precision passes were missing the mark and the reliable Lachlan Coote and Michael Morgan were spilling balls they’d usually gobble up.
Johnathan Thurston in action against the Cowboys.Source:AAP
It took the vastly improved Ethan Lowe to run on to a textbook short pass from Thurston for the opening points.
A simple error from Kostjasyn proved costly when Peats barged over from dummy-half and a rampaging Kenny Edwards gave Parramatta a crucial 14-6 lead at the break.
Justin O’Neill won his centre duel with Michael Jennings to bring the Cowboys back into the game but Brad Takairangi hit back on the other side of the field.
The Cowboys didn’t stop trying but Gavin Cooper dropping a penalty tap summed up just what sort of night it was for the Cowboys.
Jason Taumalolo scored to give the Cowboys a chance of another Houdini escape but there was no repeat of the grand final heroics.
They didn’t have the answers for the fired up Eels and only have four days to iron out their issues before they host the winless Roosters on Thursday.