NYC Rd 16 North Qld 22 Canberra 38A starring performance for half-turned-centre Anthony Milford has led the Canberra Raiders NYC team to a 38-22 victory over the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Playing just his second game in the NYC Milford scored three tries and caused havoc for the Cowboys right edge defence with fabulous footwork.
The Raiders started fast, and while early mistakes from both teams halted their momentum, it was Johnathon Reuben who got the opening points when Jack Ahearn busted the line and put him over in the right corner in the 6th minute.
Continuing to pile on the pressure, Anthony Milford crossed the Raiders second and his first in the NYC competition, grabbing a late offload from Mitch Cornish and forcing his way over out wide to push the score to 8-0 in the 11th minute.
A mistake from the next set gave the Cowboys their first real chance, and they converted it when Luke Abdul-Rahman did it all himself, planting down his own grubber to bring them back into the game at 8-4 in the 15th minute.
Undeterred, the Raiders set about regaining control of the game, and they pushed back in front in the 21st minute when Mitch Cornish scored the easiest of tries, dummying through the line and extending the lead to 12-4.
They were given a golden chance straight after that when the kick-off went out on the full, but a mistake released the pressure and the Cowboys struck twice in four minutes. Brady Williams got the first in the 27th minute after some good hands by Sam Foster and Hayden Crowley, before Francis Veukiso strode into a hole from short range and crashed over for a 14-12 lead.
Milford's second try in the 34th minute pushed the Raiders back in front 16-14, as he chased down a Cornish grubber to score, but the Cowboys could have easily taken the lead on the siren, if not for a brilliant cover tackle by Peter Irwin on a flying Rogan Dean.
Mistakes crept into the Raiders' game at the beginning of the second half, and gave the Cowboys field position for the first points after the break as Zac Santo crossed to put them back in front 18-16. But it wasn't long before Milford was back in the game when he backed up a break by Joe Bradley to score under the posts for his hat-trick and a 22-18 lead.
Cornish pushed the lead out to 28-18 in the 57th minute when he took the line on and fought to get the ball down, but again a Raiders mistake from the ensuing set gave the Cowboys a chance to strike back. They did in the 62nd minute when Dean crossed in the corner to restrict the lead to 28-22.
Once again a mistake from the kick-off gave the Raiders a chance, and Jeff Lynch crossed for his first NYC try off a good ball from Mitch Cornish to push the lead back out to 34-22 in the 67th minute.
Matthew Allwood added another try in the 72nd minute off a Cornish break to secure the 38-22 victory.
CANBERRA RAIDERS 38(A Milford 3, M Cornish 2, J Reuben, J Lynch, M Allwood Tries; M Cornish 3/8 Goals)
Defeated
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 22(L Abdul-Rahman, B Williams, F Veukiso, Z Santo, R Dean Tries; S Foster 1/5 Goals)
at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Source: Rleague.com
Topic: Milford Causes Havoc for Young Cowboys
