League legends couldn’t hide their bewilderment at the “soft” North Queensland defence that opened the door for an easy Canberra try in the opening minutes of their clash at GIO Stadium.
Raiders hooker Tom Starling scored the opening try after just three minutes and it was the second week in a row the Cowboys have allowed a ridiculously soft try from dummy half.
A gap opened up in the middle of the field and the No.9 couldn’t believe his luck, strolling past opposition forward Coen Hess to score under the posts.
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“That was just soft – didn’t get a hand laid on him,” Andrew Johns said on Nine’s commentary.
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Last week Warriors hooker Kodi Nikorima found a gigantic gap on the Cowboys’ right-hand side and scored without a North Queensland player anywhere close.
“Any dummy half, they see that space within the 10-metre line and they’ll say ‘thank you very much’,” Cameron Smith said after the Starling try.
“That’s one of the easier tries Starling will ever get.”
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