Not many are giving the Cowboys much hope of upsetting the Sharks in their elimination final – and even fewer still are giving them the chance of going much further in this year’s campaign.
For North Queensland hooker Soni Luke however, the side are taking confidence in the past – and the knowledge they are still yet to play their best football.
In his first year with the club after making the move from Penrith where he spent four seasons, Luke has seen up close what a successful finals campaign looks like and has confidence the eighth-placed Cowboys can go on a 2017-like run.
“We've done it before (claimed upsets wins) against a couple of the heavyweights and I think we've got the evidence that we can match it there,” Luke said.
“It's just about getting that on consistently and trying to get our game on to our best ability.
“With the inconsistency, we're still probably chasing our perfect game and trying to build towards an 80-minute performance …
“(What we are working on is) trying to build the team and hopefully we can time that run a bit now over the next couple of weeks and really build into our final series.”
While Jason Taumalolo is the only Cowboy remaining in the squad from the 2015 triumph, with fellow forward Coen Hess joining him as another to have experienced playing in a decider for the club, North Queensland are no strangers to finals footy in recent years.
However, with a number of their key young talents like Jaxon Purdue and Tom Chester featuring in their first series, the advice of more experienced players like Luke will be key to helping keep their emotions in check.
“I'm a bit older now, I've been around for a while, so I'm pretty laidback and I'm just trying to help everyone else and just get our focus on how to get a win,” Luke said.
“They can only control what they can control and if they can get their the best version of themselves in the game, then that's going to go a long way for us as a team.”
On their sudden death opponents, Luke said he was learning “a bit of the history around Cronulla and the Cowboys” which has involved plenty of close games and some controversy.
The two clubs have met six times in finals football, with Cowboys holding a 4-2 advantage. However, the Sharks have the most recent win, their 26-18 preliminary final win in 2024 at Allianz Stadium, the same venue the two sides will meet on Saturday.
“It's pretty cool to see how many times the teams come up against each other and a bit of the drama years ago,” Luke said.
“But they're a great team, they're always in the finals and they're pretty consistent, so it's going to be a good match-up and I'm looking forward to it.”
Match: Sharks v Cowboys
Finals Week 1 -
home Team
Sharks
5th Position
away Team
Cowboys
8th Position
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
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