Cronulla-Sutherland 20–18 North Queensland Cowboys — Elimination Final, 2013 NRL Finals Series
14 Sep 2013 · Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 32,747
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Elimination Final, 2013 NRL finals series: Cronulla-Sutherland 20–18 North Queensland Cowboys, at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 14 Sep 2013.
Sourcing caveat: rugbyleagueproject.org labels this fixture 'Qualifying Final' despite the 3rd-v-6th seeding — this site follows the structural/media convention instead. Minute markers for all tries except Ryan's opening try are not confirmed. No official player-of-the-match award could be confirmed for this fixture.
Scorers
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Tries: Ryan ~8'; Pomeroy; Tagataese; Feki Goals: Gordon (2/4 conversions) |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Tate; Ulugia; Taumalolo Goals: Thurston (2/3 conversions, 1/1 penalty goal) |
Team sheets
| Cronulla-Sutherland | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Gordon | Fullback | Matt Bowen | 1 |
| 2 | Sosaia Feki | Wing | Wayne Ulugia | 2 |
| 3 | Ben Pomeroy | Centre | Brent Tate | 3 |
| 4 | Jonathan Wright | Centre | Kane Linnett | 4 |
| 5 | Beau Ryan | Wing | Antonio Winterstein | 5 |
| 6 | Todd Carney | Five-Eighth | Johnathan Thurston (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Jeff Robson | Halfback | Robert Lui | 7 |
| 8 | Andrew Fifita | Prop | Matthew Scott | 8 |
| 9 | John Morris | Hooker | Rory Kostjasyn | 9 |
| 10 | Sam Tagataese | Prop | James Tamou | 10 |
| 11 | Luke Lewis | Second-Row | Gavin Cooper | 11 |
| 12 | Wade Graham | Second-Row | Glenn Hall | 12 |
| 13 | Paul Gallen (c) | Lock | Joel Riethmuller | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Isaac De Gois | Jayden Hodges | 14 | |
| 15 | Chris Heighington | Tariq Sims | 15 | |
| 16 | Jayson Bukuya | Scott Bolton | 16 | |
| 17 | Anthony Tupou | Jason Taumalolo | 17 | |
| Shane Flanagan | Coach | Neil Henry | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Matt Cecchin and Henry Perenara (two-referee system) |
Match report
This sudden-death elimination final was played as part of a Sydney doubleheader, drawing a shared crowd of 32,747 to Allianz Stadium. Cronulla led 12-8 at halftime after Beau Ryan opened the scoring in a contentious passage of play: referee Matt Cecchin was later found to have miscounted the tackle count, awarding the try on what should have been the seventh tackle — an error the NRL's referees boss publicly acknowledged, leading to both referees being stood down from further finals duty that year. North Queensland fought back after the break through Wayne Ulugia and Jason Taumalolo to snatch an 18-16 lead, but Cronulla replied with tries to Sam Tagataese and Sosaia Feki to regain the ascendancy. In the dying stages Kane Linnett appeared to score what would have been a match-winning try for the Cowboys, but replays showed the Sharks fullback had forced his foot into touch, and the try was disallowed, sealing Cronulla's 20-18 win.