Cowboys' misery rolls on

The Wests Tigers have condemned North Queensland to its sixth-straight defeat, powering to a 40-16 win at Campbelltown Sports Stadium which keeps them in touch with the top four.

The match was decided in a blistering first 30 minutes, with Brett Hodgson inspiring the home side to a 22-0 lead. The Cowboys, minus Origin stars Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen, fought back but could not recover from that start and crashed to yet another loss to now sit in a clear second-last.

The Tigers began the game brilliantly scoring twice inside the first ten minutes. Mathew Head's clever kick allowed Dean Collis to rise high and touch down and Hodgson converted. Collis then turned provider, giving a lightning pass for Hodgson to pick-up at full speed and then flick back for Shannon McDonnell to score and give his side a 10-0 lead

Cowboys half-back Travis Burns was placed on report twice in a torrid opening quarter of an hour, firstly for a high shot which knocked out Taniela Tuiaki and secondly for a spear tackle.

The match was as good as over when the Tigers raced to a 22-0 lead by the half hour mark thanks to two quick converted tries. On 23 minutes, Head slipped through a gap in the Cowboys' defence to score his first try for his new club and then a Hodgson break and kick found its way to Ben Te'o, who barrelled over to further embarrass the Cowboys.

On 35 minutes, debutant Nick Slyney finally got the visitors off the mark, stretching over and touching down under the posts and John Williams' conversion made it 22-6 at the break, with a Tigers' effort ruled out for an obstruction.

The Cowboys were more positive early in the second half and their expansive play saw Ty Williams open his 2008 account and the John Williams close the gap to two converted tries with 35 minutes remaining.

But Chris Heighington wrested the momentum back, diving on a grubber from Head which caused confusion in the Cowboys defence. Hodgson's conversion made it a more comfortable 28-10.

Ben Harris' converted try closed the gap to 12 again just after hour but again the Tigers had the answer, with Benji Marshall and Hodgson both crossing late in the game.

Wests Tigers 40
Tries: Collis, McDonnell, Head, Te'o, Marshall, Heighington, Hodgson
Conversions: Hodgson 6

Cowboys 16
Tries: Slyner, Harris, T Williams
Conversions: J Williams 2

Sportal Player of the Year
3 - Mathew Head (Tigers)
2 - Brett Hodgson (Tigers)
1 - Jacob Lillyman (Cowboys)