Parramatta Eels 16–24 North Queensland Cowboys — Semi-Final, 2017 NRL Finals Series
16 Sep 2017 · ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 41,287
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-Final, 2017 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 16–24 North Queensland Cowboys, at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, NSW on 16 Sep 2017.
Sourcing caveat: Try minutes for Radradra, Smith, Asiata and Jennings vary or were not identified across sources; the minutes shown for Feldt, Hess and Morgan are corroborated by NRL.com's own try-highlight video titles. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 11′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Feldt |
| 52′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Hess |
| 75′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Morgan |
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
| Parramatta Eels | Tries: Radradra; Smith; Jennings Goals: Moses (2/3 conversions) |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Feldt 11'; Asiata; Hess 52'; Morgan 75' Goals: Lowe (4/4 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Will Smith | Fullback | Lachlan Coote | 1 |
| 2 | Semi Radradra | Wing | Kyle Feldt | 2 |
| 3 | Michael Jennings | Centre | Justin O'Neill | 19 |
| 4 | Brad Takairangi | Centre | Kane Linnett | 4 |
| 5 | Kirisome Auva'a | Wing | Antonio Winterstein | 5 |
| 6 | Corey Norman | Five-Eighth | Te Maire Martin | 6 |
| 7 | Mitchell Moses | Halfback | Michael Morgan | 7 |
| 8 | Daniel Alvaro | Prop | Shaun Fensom | 17 |
| 9 | Cameron King | Hooker | Jake Granville | 9 |
| 10 | Tim Mannah (c) | Prop | Scott Bolton (c) | 10 |
| 11 | Manu Ma'u | Second-Row | Gavin Cooper | 11 |
| 15 | Kenny Edwards | Second-Row | Ethan Lowe | 12 |
| 13 | Nathan Brown | Lock | Jason Taumalolo | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Beau Scott | John Asiata | 8 | |
| 17 | Suaia Matagi | Ben Hampton | 14 | |
| 18 | Kaysa Pritchard | Coen Hess | 15 | |
| 19 | Peni Terepo | Corey Jensen | 16 | |
| Brad Arthur | Coach | Paul Green | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Matt Cecchin and Ben Cummins (two-referee system) |
Match report
This was the 2017 NRL Finals Week 2 semi-final, played 16 September 2017 at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, before 41,287 fans. Parramatta, in just their second finals campaign in over a decade, led 10-6 at halftime behind early tries to Semi Radradra and Will Smith. North Queensland, however, drew on greater finals experience: halfback Michael Morgan orchestrated a second-half turnaround built on precise tactical kicking, while lock Jason Taumalolo (236m from 21 runs, 33 tackles) dominated go-forward. Tries to John Asiata (an interception off a stray Morgan kick) and Coen Hess (from a Te Maire Martin inside ball) put the Cowboys in front, and Ethan Lowe's perfect goal-kicking proved decisive. Morgan's own try in the final ten minutes sealed a 24-16 victory, with Michael Jennings' consolation try for Parramatta coming too late. The result eliminated Parramatta from the finals and sent North Queensland through to a preliminary final against the Sydney Roosters.