North Queensland are through to the second week of the NRL finals after co-captain Reuben Cotter scored a bizarre late try as the Cowboys rallied to oust gallant Newcastle 28-16.
The 73rd minute try in Saturday night’s elimination final in Townsville came off a Jake Clifford bomb. It was knocked back by winger Kyle Feldt, bounced off the knee of second-rower Heilum Luki and was then knocked on by Newcastle’s Daniel Saifiti.
They have advanced to a semi-final set to be played on Friday against Cronulla at CommBank Stadium with the NRL rejecting the Sharks’ attempts to have the game stages at PointsBet Stadium.
Cronulla’s home ground has limited capacity and their semi against the Cowboys should go close to selling out the much larger Parramatta venue.
The Sharks sunk to a 37-10 defeat at the hands of a dominant Melbourne to miss the chance of going straight to the prelim finals in week three.
Penrith and the Storm have bypassed week two of the finals.
The Panthers were also impressive as they thumped the Roosters 30-10 at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night.
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The final score was 30-10, but had looked on track to be bigger after a 24-0 first half, and the game never seriously resembled a contest from the 25-minute mark onwards.
Their Preliminary Final is set to be held at Accor Stadium where they will play the winner of the Sharks vs Cowboys clash.
The Roosters await the winners of Sunday’s Canterbury vs Manly Elimination Final with that match to be played at Allianz Stadium next Saturday.
Week two fixtures will be officially announced after the Dogs-Sea Eagles playoff.
Week 1 results
Qualifying Final – Penrith 30, Roosters 10
Qualifying Final – Melbourne 37, Sharks 10
Elimination Final – North Qld 28, Newcastle 16
Elimination Final – Canterbury vs Manly, Sunday 4.05pm at Accor Stadium
Week 2 draw (TBC)
Cronulla vs North Qld, 7.50pm Friday September 20 at Allianz Stadium
Roosters vs Bulldogs/Sea Eagles, 7.50pm Saturday September 21 at Allianz Stadium
Week 3 draw (TBC)
Melbourne vs Roosters/Sea Eagles/Bulldogs, 7.50pm Friday September 27 or Saturday September 28 at AAMI Park
Penrith vs Sharks/Cowboys, 7.50pm Friday September 27 or Saturday September 28 at Accor Stadium
Grand Final
7pm Sunday October 6 at Accor Stadium