Dominic BrockUpdated July 30, 2026 — 8:23pm,first published 7:20pmYour say: Roosters or Cowboys?By Latest Posts8.23pmTRY: Sam Walker does it all himselfBy This is becoming a cakewalk for the Roosters, who have been red hot in this first half. A penalty against Jeremiah Nanai gets the Tricolours into attacking territory and this time there’s no sharp passing or kicking necessary – Sam Walker takes a pass from the right, then steps hard off his left foot to beat his defender, slips between two others and scores beside the posts.Walker and James Tedesco have been brilliant so far, but the Roosters have been pretty slick across the board really.Roosters 24, Cowboys 6 after 26 minutes8.16pmTRY: Roosters on fire Tedesco kicks on for Savala By Daly Cherry-Evans drills a terrific 40-20 kick to put the Roosters back on the attack, and the visitors pile on the pressure – especially when the Cowboys concede a six-again for being inside the 10 metres.There aren’t many more dangerous teams in this situation and it’s that man Tedesco who comes up trumps again, sliding to the left then spotting an opportunity behind the line. The fullback rolls in a well-placed grubber kick, and left centre Hugo Savala gets to it first to score a simple try. Sam Walker slots his third conversion of the contest.Roosters 18, Cowboys 6 after 20 minutes8.11pmTRY: Walker, Tedesco rip Cowboys apart through the middleBy The Roosters have the ball in centre field 30 metres from North Queensland’s line, and two of their superstars combine for a beauty. Reece Robson goes into dummy half and passes to Sam Walker, who turns a pass inside to James Tedesco. The skipper hits a gap, draws the attention of three defenders, then flings a pass back to Walker who goes over just about untouched.Walker converts his own try and the visitors are back in front.Roosters 12, Cowboys 6 after 16 minutes8.07pmTRY: Cowboys hit back after back-to-back Roosters penaltiesBy The Roosters are penalised twice – Hugo Savala is offside then Reece Robson is pinged for an illegal ball strip – and the Cowboys make them pay, a nice backline shift to the right ending with a Jaxon Purdue pass ricocheting off a Roosters defender and lobbing into the path of unmarked North Queensland winger Braidon Burns.Drinkwater swings around a perfect sideline conversion, and it’s all square.Cowboys 6, Roosters 6 after 12 minutes8.03pmDrinkwater snoozing at dummy-half almost leads to Roosters tryBy A bit of chaos near the Cowboys tryline as North Queensland centre Zac Laybutt plays the ball to Scott Drinkwater – who is looking at his backline and seemingly unaware the ball is at his feet.Roosters second-rower Siua Wong spots and opportunity and dives on the ball, the ball fumbles out of his hands and falls to Daly Cherry-Evans, and at first it looks like this might be a truly bizarre Roosters try but the referee calls back play for a knock-on by Wong. Strange brainsnap by Drinkwater there.Roosters 6, Cowboys 0 after 10 minutesVictor Radley passes to James Tedesco.Getty Images7.57pmTRY: Radley, Robson set up opener for TedescoBy Andrew Johns wrote this week about how crucial Victor Radley is to the Roosters’ attack, and the veteran lock runs through the line then offloads to Reece Robson to set up the game’s opening try, Robson finding James Tedesco who scores beside the posts.Sam Walker lands the simple conversion. Super start from the Roosters.Roosters 6, Cowboys 0 after four minutes7.55pmKick-offBy Referee Ashley Klein blows the whistle, the Cowboys in their Indigenous Round jerseys kick us off and the Roosters get first use of the ball tonight. It’s a tough set, the best run coming with a half break from former Cowboy Reece Robson out of dummy-half, before Daly Cherry-Evans gets a kick away to Scott Drinkwater on North Queensland’s 10-metre line.Should be a good contest, this one. The Cowboys can take a massive step towards finals football if they beat the Roosters for the second time this year.Cowboys 0, Roosters 0 after two minutes7.43pmCherry-Evans a game away from matching CronkBy Daly Cherry-Evans is set to play his 371st NRL game tonight, one game shy of Cooper Cronk’s career tally of 372. Cherry-Evans is on track to become the second most-capped NRL player ever once he passes Cronk, with Cameron Smith well ahead of the pack with 430.Daly Cherry-Evans warms up before tonight’s kick-off.Getty Images7.40pmCowboys v Roosters team listsBy North Queensland Cowboys1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Braidon Burns 3. Zac Laybutt 4. Tomas Chester 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Jake Clifford 7. Jaxon Purdue 8. Thomas Mikaele 9. Soni Luke 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben CotterBench: 14. Ethan King 16. Matthew Lodge 17. Coen Hess 18. Sam McIntyre 19. Kaiden Lahrs 20. Kai O’DonnellSydney Roosters1. James Tedesco 2. Tommy Talau 3. Hugo Savala 4. Robert Toia 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Daly Cherry-Evans 7. Sam Walker 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Reece Robson 15. Salesi Foketi 11. Nat Butcher 12. Siua Wong 13. Victor RadleyBench: 10. Spencer Leniu 14. Connor Watson 16. Egan Butcher 17. Taylor Losalu 18. Cody Ramsey 19. Reece Foley7.28pmWatch: The last time these teams metBy The Cowboys were the team that ended the Roosters’ six-game winning streak earlier this season, pipping the Sydneysiders by six at Allianz Stadium in round 11.1 of 2