A huge crowd was on hand to see the New England Ferrets clash with the in-form Carnarvon Cowboys. Both sides were coming off upset losses, with New England unlucky to lose their tight match against North Melbourne.

NEW ENGLAND CARNARVON
1: David Peachy © 1: David Riolo
2: Albert Torrens 2: Wendell Sailor
3: Matt Cooper 3: Mark Gasnier
4: Shane Elford 4: Ryan Girdler
5: Martin Offiah 5: Nathan Blacklock
6: Ben Ikin 6: Danny Williams
7: Adrian Lam 7: Jason Taylor
8: Kevin Iro 8: Darren Maroon
9: Ben Walker 9: John Cross
10: Andrew Hart 10: Ian Rubin
11: Chris Joynt 11: Ben Kennedy
12: Bryan Fletcher 12: Ian Hindmarsh
13: Andy Farrel 13: Iestyn Harris

14: Paul Smith 14: Stefano Saghini
15: Darrel Trindall 15: Paul Rauhihi
16: Peter Jorgenson 16: Andrew King
17: Wairangi Koopu 17: Mike Forshaw

The Cowboys got things underway courtesy of Jason Taylor, with the ball finding the hands of star playmaker Ben Walker. Andy Farrel surprised everyone with a line-break on the second, racing down the right side of the field before off-loading to Lam. Lam's speed looked to have him set for an astounding first try, but a driving tackle from Riolo threw the Papua New Guinean into touch.

The Cowboys' shaky start continued, with a horrible first set ending in an equally poor Taylor clearing kick. The ball sailed straight into the arms of David Peachy, giving the Ferrets excellent field position. The Ferrets' set was promising, but the spiralling bomb on the end was taken brilliantly by Nathan Blacklock who immediatly launched a counter attack which ended when John Cross dropped the ball.

Both sides showed signs of nervousness as the match progressed, with Girdler dropping a sitter and Ben Walker being drilled into touch by Darren Maroon. If attack wasn't brilliant, the defence of both sides was proving admirable. Big hits and grassing tackles were on show, as both sides showed the kind of desperation you only see in finals football.

It wasn't until the 10th minute that someone crossed the line, with former English great Martin Offiah capitalising on an Andy Farrel offload to score a try in the corner. Walker's conversion narrowly missed, giving the home side a 4-0 lead.

The Cowboys had to weather another storm from the kick-off, with some brilliant attack continually thwarthed by good defence. In the 13th minute the lead was extended to six, courtesy of a Ben Walker penalty deep in Carnarvon territory.

The Cowboys had another tough blow in the 15th when inspirational fullback David Riolo left the field with a suspected torn hamstring. The Cowboys didn't falter, lifting their defence and attack enough to pin New England down in their own line. A forced drop-out looked to put the Cowboys on the board, but some great defence from Paul Smith (in the absence of Farrel) kept the Cowboys out.

The Cowboys were again let off the hook in the 22nd when a bullet pass from Ikin to Offiah was called back for forward. The Cowboys had no-one on the wing, which would've given Offiah a clear run to the line.

Despite the weight of possession, the Cowboys couldn't cross, even on the back of plentiful penalties. If anything could kill Carnarvon's chances, it would be impatiance.

Patience paid off in the 28th, when Ryan Girdler and Ian Hindmarsh combined to put the first try on the board for the visitors. Taylor made no mistake with the conversion, locking things up at 6 apiece.

The Cowboys continued to pick up the pressure, finally stringing together some exciting attack before Girdler scored a try of his own in the 33rd. Once again Taylor's boot hit with unerring accuracy, and the Cowboys were in front for the first time. The Ferrets were tired, and halftime couldn't come soon enough.

Bryan Fletcher lived up to all of the hype about his return only two minutes later, swooping on a loose ball and burrowing over from ten out. The score levelled at 12 all by Ben Walker's boot, neither side could find points before the half-time break.
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Ben Walker got things underway in the second half, with Andy Farrel still missing from the Ferret's lineup. Paul Smith had his chance to prove why he was the hottest free agent in league in the absence of the English captain.

Neither side looked threatening in the opening minutes, with mistakes coming from too many forced passes and half-planned plays. Whilst neither side looked threatening in attack, both sides produced some ominous tackling throughout the early stages. Indeed, the only points for the first half of the second half came from the boot of Jason Taylor, which put the Cowboys up 14-12.

Albert Torrens hit back in the 63rd, scoring a try in the corner from his own freakishly good grubber. Riolo looked to have the situation under control, but the final bounce eluded the fullback's grasp, and Torrens planted it. The conversion was missed, putting the score at 16-14 with twenty remaining.

Ben Kennedy left the field with the help of the medi-cab in the 71st minute, his arm severly broken in a messy tackle on Paul Smith. The halt in play gave both sides plenty of time to breath, although the Cowboys now had to last ten minutes and score a try without their best attacking forward. Walker put the game further in doubt with a penalty, putting it 18-14, meaning the Cowboys would need a converted try.

Carnarovon tried hard, and came close on several ocassions, prompting a late Ben Walker field goal to put his side five in front. The Carnarvon try never came, and the siren went with a roar from the crowd. The Ferrets were two games away from a grand final, and Carnarvon left the final series.

FULL TIME
New England Ferrets 19:
Albert Torrens
Martin Offiah
Bryan Fletcher
Ben Walker 3/5
Ben Walker (fg) 1/1
def.
Carnarvon Cowboys 14:
Ryan Girdler
Ian Hindmarsh
Jason Taylor 3/3

Player of the Match Points
Bryan Fletcher 3
Ben Walker 2
Iestyn Harris 1

New England Match Report
Armidale came out in mass to support their much loved Ferrets and the Ferrets came away with the game. The game a real hair-raiser for all, the talent of the English lock putting Lam in the clear only to be taken into touch in a great tackle in the first set of the game. Farrel was the spark for the Ferrets in the first half, giving a great offload to send Martin Offiah over in the corner. Offiah has been a gem of a find this season for the ferrets and in this game had some big shoes to fill up against a team with more stars than the Milky Way, but he did the job and did it well in an important game. Peachey fresh off a good performance once again was brilliant in attack with a nervous opposition playing, Peachey was showing the from he had lacked througout the year and off a Taylor kick returned it in great field position for the Ferrets, but Blacklock soon saw to the attacking raids by the Ferrets and nullified them.
With the opposition fullback leaving in the 15th, it was a shot of adrenilin that got into the Cowboys systems and they attacked New England, the only thing between the Cowboys and the line was Paul Smith
Fletcher a late inclusion in the side with still some niggling problems showed why he plays for Australia when he burrowed under the defence for a much needed ferrets try a couple before the siren.

Albert Torrens came up with the ferrets first points of the second half with a quirky kick that evaided the fullbacks defence and Torrens crashed over.
In a sickening tackle, Paul Smith produced a literally bone crunching tackle on Ben Kennedy, Kennedy leaving the field in the medicab with a badly shattered arm.
With the mainstay of the Cowboys attack gone through injury, all the boys had to do now was hold on for the ride of the last ten. Walker provided some time wasting with a precautionary drop goal, but the golden try and conversiion for the Cowboys never came.

Rowland Kelly
New England Ferrets Coach