Parramatta Eels 0–29 North Queensland Cowboys — Preliminary Final, 2005 NRL Finals Series
25 Sep 2005 · Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW · Attendance: 44,327
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2005 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 0–29 North Queensland Cowboys, at Telstra Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW on 25 Sep 2005.
Sourcing caveat: No try-scoring minutes were found for this fixture. This is the only match of the 2005 finals series to feature a field goal.
Scorers
| Parramatta Eels | No scorers recorded. |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Bowen; Firman; Hannay; Jensen; Williams Goals: Hannay (4/6 conversions) Drop goals: Thurston |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wade McKinnon | Fullback | Matt Bowen | 1 |
| 2 | Luke Burt | Wing | Ty Williams | 2 |
| 3 | Ben Smith | Centre | Josh Hannay | 3 |
| 4 | Timana Tahu | Centre | Paul Bowman | 4 |
| 5 | Eric Grothe | Wing | Matt Sing | 5 |
| 6 | John Morris | Five-Eighth | Justin Smith | 6 |
| 7 | Tim Smith | Halfback | Johnathan Thurston | 7 |
| 8 | Nathan Cayless (c) | Prop | Paul Rauhihi | 8 |
| 9 | Mark Riddell | Hooker | Aaron Payne | 9 |
| 10 | Paul Stringer | Prop | Shane Tronc | 10 |
| 11 | Daniel Wagon | Second Row | Steve Southern | 11 |
| 12 | Glenn Morrison | Second Row | Luke O'Donnell | 12 |
| 13 | Chad Robinson | Lock | Travis Norton (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | PJ Marsh | Brett Firman | 7 | |
| 15 | Dean Widders | David Faiumu | 14 | |
| 16 | Michael Vella | Mitchell Sargent | 17 | |
| 17 | Adam Peek | Rod Jensen | 18 | |
| Brian Smith | Coach | Graham Murray | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Steve Clark |
Match report
Minor premiers Parramatta suffered a stunning, complete collapse, failing to score at all as the underdog Cowboys ran in five tries and led 18-0 at the break. It was one of the most one-sided preliminary finals in NRL history and ended Parramatta's premiership hopes despite finishing the regular season top of the ladder. Johnathan Thurston capped the demolition with a field goal, sending North Queensland through to their first-ever Grand Final.