Sydney Roosters 16–29 North Queensland Cowboys — Preliminary Final, 2017 NRL Finals Series
23 Sep 2017 · Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 28,108
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2017 NRL finals series: Sydney Roosters 16–29 North Queensland Cowboys, at Allianz Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 23 Sep 2017.
Sourcing caveat: Sources disagree slightly on exact try minutes for Te Maire Martin and Kyle Feldt, and on the exact minute of Michael Morgan's field goal. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 46′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Watson |
| 55′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Linnett |
| 61′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Ferguson |
| 80′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Bolton |
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: Mitchell; Watson 46'; Ferguson 61' Goals: Gordon (2/3 conversions) |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Martin; Linnett 55'; Feldt; Bolton 80' Goals: Lowe (6/6 conversions) Drop goals: Morgan |
Team sheets
| Sydney Roosters | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Gordon | Fullback | Lachlan Coote | 1 |
| 3 | Latrell Mitchell | Wing | Kyle Feldt | 2 |
| 14 | Ryan Matterson | Centre | Justin O'Neill | 3 |
| 4 | Mitchell Aubusson | Centre | Kane Linnett | 4 |
| 5 | Blake Ferguson | Wing | Antonio Winterstein | 5 |
| 6 | Luke Keary | Five-Eighth | Te Maire Martin | 6 |
| 7 | Mitchell Pearce | Halfback | Michael Morgan | 7 |
| 8 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | Prop | Shaun Fensom | 17 |
| 9 | Jake Friend | Hooker | Jake Granville | 9 |
| 10 | Dylan Napa | Prop | Scott Bolton (c) | 10 |
| 11 | Boyd Cordner (c) | Second-Row | Gavin Cooper | 11 |
| 12 | Aidan Guerra | Second-Row | Ethan Lowe | 12 |
| 13 | Isaac Liu | Lock | Jason Taumalolo | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 2 | Daniel Tupou | John Asiata | 8 | |
| 15 | Siosiua Taukeiaho | Ben Hampton | 14 | |
| 16 | Zane Tetevano | Coen Hess | 15 | |
| 17 | Connor Watson | Corey Jensen | 16 | |
| Trent Robinson | Coach | Paul Green | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Adam Gee |
Match report
The 2017 preliminary final stands as one of the great NRL boilover results. North Queensland, robbed of inspirational captain Johnathan Thurston to a season-ending shoulder injury sustained playing State of Origin, travelled to Sydney to face the minor premiers on their home turf at Allianz Stadium on 23 September 2017. The Cowboys led 8-6 at half-time behind an early Te Maire Martin try, but the Roosters hit the front twice in the second half — first through Connor Watson, then Blake Ferguson — to lead 16-12 and appeared set to progress to the Grand Final. North Queensland refused to fold: Kane Linnett's 55th-minute try had already kept them in touch, and with around 14 minutes remaining winger Kyle Feldt scored what was described as 'an outrageous' try to swing the momentum decisively back to the Cowboys. Michael Morgan's field goal and a late Scott Bolton try in the 80th minute sealed a stunning 29-16 victory. With five-eighth Te Maire Martin and halfback Michael Morgan stepping up in Thurston's absence, and back-up kicker Ethan Lowe converting all six attempts, the Cowboys completed one of the most improbable finals runs in NRL history, advancing to face Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final the following week.