Semi’s charmed life: Cowboys debutant bags hat-trick in Storm rout
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North Queensland have kept their season alive with an emphatic 45-20 victory over Melbourne at home following a second-half blitz and hat-trick to club debutant Semi Valemei.
Neither side could be split after the opening 40 minutes with the score locked at 14-all, but it was North Queensland who came out desperate and firing in the second half to roll in five tries to Melbourne’s one.
Valemei bagged his third of the afternoon three minutes into the second half before his other winger Murray Taulagi extended the lead back to double digits.
Nick Meaney’s chip and chase to himself lowered the deficit to six again as Melbourne hung tough, but then the Cowboys hit their straps and fell into a rhythm not seen thus far in 2023.
It began with a spread left from midfield as Valentine Holmes accelerated onto a ball from Scott Drinkwater before passing out to Taulagi for his second try.
Jeremiah Nanai ran a hard line off Drinkwater’s shoulder for a try on his return from a four game suspension, then when Peta Hiku enjoyed a rare break down the right edge nine minutes from time, his grubber found skipper Chad Townsend for North Queensland’s eighth.
Semi Valemei had a double after just eight minutes and made it a hat-trick shortly after half-time.Credit: Getty
Townsend added a field goal just before full-time as the Cowboys enjoyed a complete rout of the Storm just two weeks after losing 66-18 to Wests Tigers.
The Cowboys had a number of standout players, with Reuben Cotter immense in midfield after starring for Queensland midweek, while hooker Reece Robson rattled Melbourne’s middles with some bell-ringers while also finding metres out of dummy-half.
They were in rare territory on Sunday afternoon as the 16th-placed Cowboys flew out the blocks and dominated the early stages for a 10-0 lead following two tries from Valemei.
Melbourne weathered the onslaught and threw plenty of traffic at the Cowboys’ left defensive edge, finally cracking some points when Xavier Coates beat two poor attempted tackles after a hands-play.
The Cowboys soon hit back when Melbourne coughed up the ball inside their own half, with Tom Dearden finding fullback Drinkwater, who sneaked a ball out to Holmes for their third.
Justin Olam crashed over and Meaney added a penalty on half-time to tie the game, but the Cowboys’ second dominated the second half to end a two-match slide.
Olam departed the game after failing a HIA in the first half.
AAP
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