After a scoreless first half the Sharks have fallen victim to some Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen magic in going down by 24-4 to the Cowboys in Townsville.

After neither side was able to trouble the scoreboard operator in the first half it was a John Williams try, off a Thurston cut out pass, which set the home team on their way in the 43rd minute and as hard as the Sharks tried in the remainder of the match they were unable to make much impression on the rock solid Cowboys defence.

Behind 18-0 a contentious Mattt Wright try in the corner put the Sharks on the board with less than 10-minutes left on the clock, however another try laid on by the Queensland and Australian halfback Thurston would well and truly put the result beyond doubt.

In what was a grinding affair, the Sharks got good service out of their forward pack, with prop Luke Douglas leading the way and doing his State of Origin chances no harm whatsoever with a tireless performance.

In the backs Nathan Stapleton was again a constant threat in the number one jersey.

The loss leaves the Sharks anchored on 12 competition points and facing a monumental battle to push their way in the top eight and the end of season semi final series.

In a setback for the Sharks, they lost Mitch Brown before kickoff, the young centre suffering from a virus. Ben Pomeroy replaced Brown, with Jak Afamasaga coming into the side on the interchange bench.

In the earlier match the Toyota Cup Sharks were outclassed by the Cowboys, going down by 56-10 after taking an early 10-0 lead in the first half.

The Sharks have the bye next weekend.

NRL
SHARKS 4
Matt Wright try
Lost to
COWBOYS 24
Matt Bowen 2, John Williams, Willie Tonga tries. Johnathan Thurston 4 goals