Parramatta Eels 24–20 North Queensland Cowboys — Preliminary Final, 2022 NRL Finals Series
23 Sep 2022 · Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD · Attendance: 25,372
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2022 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 24–20 North Queensland Cowboys, at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, QLD on 23 Sep 2022.
Sourcing caveat: Individual try/goal timing was sourced from a live-blog rather than NRL.com's own play-by-play. A claimed player-of-the-match award for Shaun Lane could not be confirmed by a reliable primary source and is not included. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 6′ | Parramatta Eels — try, Penisini |
| 11′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Cotter |
| 18′ | Parramatta Eels — try, Campbell-Gillard |
| 25′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Leilua |
| 52′ | North Queensland Cowboys — try, Taulagi |
| 57′ | Parramatta Eels — try, Campbell-Gillard |
| 64′ | Parramatta Eels — try, Sivo |
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: Penisini 6'; Campbell-Gillard 18'; Campbell-Gillard 57'; Sivo 64' Goals: Moses (4/4 conversions) 8', 19', 58', 65' |
| North Queensland Cowboys | Tries: Cotter 11'; Leilua 25'; Taulagi 52' Goals: Holmes (2/3 conversions) 13', 54'; Holmes — penalty goals 38', 49' |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | North Queensland Cowboys | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clinton Gutherson | Fullback | Scott Drinkwater | 1 |
| 2 | Maika Sivo | Wing | Kyle Feldt | 2 |
| 3 | Will Penisini | Centre | Valentine Holmes | 3 |
| 4 | Bailey Simonsson | Centre | Peta Hiku | 4 |
| 5 | Waqa Blake | Wing | Murray Taulagi | 5 |
| 6 | Dylan Brown | Five-eighth | Tom Dearden | 6 |
| 7 | Mitchell Moses | Halfback | Chad Townsend | 7 |
| 8 | Reagan Campbell-Gillard | Prop | Jordan McLean | 8 |
| 9 | Reed Mahoney | Hooker | Reece Robson | 9 |
| 10 | Junior Paulo | Prop | Reuben Cotter | 10 |
| 11 | Shaun Lane | Second Row | Tom Gilbert | 11 |
| 12 | Isaiah Papali'i | Second Row | Jeremiah Nanai | 12 |
| 13 | Marata Niukore | Lock | Jason Taumalolo | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Bryce Cartwright | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | 14 | |
| 15 | Jake Arthur | Luciano Leilua | 15 | |
| 16 | Oregon Kaufusi | Coen Hess | 16 | |
| 17 | Ryan Matterson | Griffin Neame | 17 | |
| Brad Arthur | Coach | Todd Payten | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Grant Atkins |
Match report
Parramatta produced one of the great NRL finals upsets on 23 September 2022, defeating minor-premiership contender North Queensland 24-20 in the Preliminary Final at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, to book a Grand Final berth against Penrith. The Eels trailed with roughly 25 minutes remaining after North Queensland tries from Reuben Cotter, Luciano Leilua and Murray Taulagi, plus goals from Valentine Holmes, put the home side in control in front of 25,372 fans. Parramatta hit back through Reagan Campbell-Gillard's second try and a match-turning Maika Sivo four-pointer, with Mitchell Moses landing all four conversions to complete the comeback. The result ended the Cowboys' campaign despite their strong home finals form and sent Parramatta to their first Grand Final since 2009.