WINDSOR product Lachlan Coote had a night to forget on Friday, as the North Queensland Cowboys went down to the Cronulla Sharks in their NRL preliminary final clash.
A number of first half errors by Coote helped the Sharks gain the upper hand early in the clash, and the Cowboys were never able to recover in the 32-20 point thrashing.
Coote dropped the first bomb of the game, setting the Sharks up with good field position.
A few minutes later, Coote took a gamble which did not pay off.
He did not kick dead a Cronulla grubber, and the ball took an awful bounce back in the arms of a chasing Chad Townsend, who scored the first try of the game.
The fullback was certainly not alone in making errors, with Johnathan Thurston and Javid Bowen also dropping the ball in the first half.
Coote did his best to get his team back in the contest by barrelling over for a try shortly after the half time break, but the Sharks never looked like losing the match in front of a stadium packed with Sharks fans.
The Cowboys scored a handful of late tries but it was in vain, with the Sharks holding an insurmountable lead for much of the game.
The Sharks advanced into the grand final with the win, and will face the Melbourne Storm, who beat a brave Canberra Raiders team 14-12, on Sunday afternoon.
A moment of silence was observed during both finals for the legendary coach Ron Massey, who died last week.
Massey’s coaching had a profound impact upon the game. NSW Rugby League has a competition named after Massey.
