Probably a fair result in the end, Cowboys scored more tries and used their golden point advantage wisely. Four great runs from their forwards, Drinkwater with a smart early kick to turn the Dragons around giving Norman a difficult 40m+ shot that was just off target.
I'm happy for Hannay. It's been a tough slog and hardly anything has gone right for him, at least tonight the Cows have something to cheer about.
Tommy Gilbert in his run on debut just gave us a sign of things to come. Very impressive from one of the best prospects coming through the grades. A Brisbane product as well, just to rub some salt in the wounds.
Gilbert was a Broncos fan growing up but was overlooked by the Broncos machine ... See below ... Personally I think he's a moral to play Origin within 3-4 years.
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During his childhood, Gilbert was unsure if he had what it would take to make it in the NRL.
Growing up in Brisbane he missed out on spots in the Brisbane Broncos' junior academies, the team he supported as a kid, and he used that as motivation to knuckle down and train even harder.
"A couple of the boys around me in the division, they had been in the Broncos academy and I wasn’t fortunate enough to make those academies and get invited to those camps," Gilbert admitted.
"Not making those academies made me want to train harder. It enabled me to push and get better performances out of me.
"I did want to play for the Broncos and probably at the time, I’m not saying I deserved a spot in their academies, I wasn’t the player that deserved to be there, but it did motivate me because at 13, 14 you’re a bit naïve so you think you should be [there].
"I didn’t like other people having that opportunity over me."
Eventually, the Cowboys came knocking and Gilbert wasn't going to pass up the chance of being a part of an NRL club's academy.
Although, there was interest from one other NRL club south of the border.
"As soon as I got this opportunity to join an academy and go to a camp, I took it straight away," Gilbert said.
"There was a bit of interest by the Sharks, but it was the Cowboys who came to me with something.
"They’re the ones who put their faith in me before I really started becoming someone who I guess other clubs wanted. They found a reason to sign me on.
"Once I got that opportunity, I wanted to work hard and I was focused on Townsville."
North Queensland Cowboys forward Tom Gilbert has sung the praises of former coach Paul Green and draws confidence from that fact that he made him a better footballer.
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