Sydney Roosters 19–16 North Queensland Cowboys — Preliminary Final, 2004 NRL Finals Series
26 Sep 2004 · Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW · Attendance: 43,048
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2004 NRL finals series: Sydney Roosters 19–16 North Queensland Cowboys, at Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW on 26 Sep 2004.
Sourcing caveat: Craig Fitzgibbon's goal tally is recorded by the source as "5/5" combining conversions and penalty goals without itemising the split (per ABC News, the total included a third penalty goal) — shown here as conversions for reconciliation purposes.
Scoring timeline
| 11′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Cross |
| 17′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Bowman |
| 45′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Williams |
| 54′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Fittler |
| 60′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Williams |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Cross 11'; Fittler 54' Goals: Fitzgibbon (5/5 conversions) Drop goals: Finch 75' |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Bowman 17'; Williams 45'; Williams 60' Goals: Hannay (2/3 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Sydney Roosters | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anthony Minichiello | Fullback | Matt Bowen | 1 |
| 2 | Shannon Hegarty | Wing | Ty Williams | 2 |
| 3 | Ryan Cross | Centre | Josh Hannay | 3 |
| 4 | Justin Hodges | Centre | Paul Bowman | 4 |
| 5 | Chris Walker | Wing | Matt Sing | 5 |
| 6 | Brad Fittler (c) | Five-Eighth | David Myles | 6 |
| 7 | Brett Finch | Halfback | Nathan Fien | 7 |
| 8 | Jason Cayless | Prop | Paul Rauhihi | 8 |
| 9 | Craig Wing | Hooker | Aaron Payne | 9 |
| 10 | Adrian Morley | Prop | Shane Tronc | 10 |
| 11 | Michael Crocker | Second Row | Luke O'Donnell | 11 |
| 12 | Craig Fitzgibbon | Second Row | Travis Norton (c) | 12 |
| 13 | Luke Ricketson | Lock | Steve Southern | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Chad Robinson | Rod Jensen | 14 | |
| 15 | Chris Flannery | Glenn Morrison | 15 | |
| 16 | Ned Catic | Leigh McWilliams | 16 | |
| 17 | Anthony Tupou | Mitchell Sargent | 17 | |
| Ricky Stuart | Coach | Graham Murray | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Paul Simpkins |
Match report
In a tense, momentum-swinging contest, the Roosters held a 10-6 halftime lead before the upstart Cowboys, in their first-ever finals campaign, hit back to level the scores in the second half. Brett Finch's 75th-minute field goal and a third Craig Fitzgibbon penalty goal proved the difference. The Cowboys nearly stole the match in the dying seconds when an Anthony Minichiello knock-on almost gifted them a chance right on the siren, sending the Roosters to their third consecutive Grand Final.