The Cowboys bounced back from what coach Todd Payten described as the club’s “darkest day” with a 30-8 win over the Titans on Thursday night that got their NRL finals charge back on track. But the 22-point win was overshadowed by a farcical jersey situation that left viewers with ‘no clue’ about which team was which.
A week after their 82-12 drubbing by the Roosters, the Cowboys gave Payten the response he was looking for to cement their spot in the top eight. However, the match got underway amid widespread confusion as viewers struggled to differentiate one team from the other.
NRL viewers had a torrid time trying to figure out which team was which after the Cowboys and Titans swapped colours with their Indigenous Round jerseys on Thursday night. Pic: Getty/Nine
Both sides marked Indigenous Round with classy new jersey designs to celebrate our first nations people. But in what can only be put down to a bizarre oversight, the Titans ran out in the more traditional dark blue colours of North Queensland, while the Cowboys looked more like Gold Coast in a predominantly aqua blue strip.
Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters summed up the confusion of viewers after struggling to work out which team was kicking off at the start of the game. The Fox League commentator changed his mind about half a dozen times before finally coming to the conclusion that it was the visiting Cowboys.
Titans and Cowboys jersey debacle baffles NRL viewers
The opening exchanges were a nightmare for many viewers struggling to re-train their brains over what many described as an ‘optical illusion’. When the broadcast panned out to wide shots of both teams it made things even more confounding for fans.
And it was only when Cowboys stalwart Jason Taumalolo snapped his four-year try drought inside the opening four minutes that it became abundantly clear which team was which. Fans eventually got their heads around the baffling jersey debacle, but it left many questioning how the NRL ticked off on the situation in the first place.
“Someone explain why these sides are wearing these colours and why did the #nrl allow it??” one fan posted on social media. Another added: “No dramas with Indigenous jerseys but this bloody ridiculous. You only have to look at the colours on the score to question who the hell is who.”
Cowboys coach ‘very proud’ after bounce-back win
Heilum Luki scored a classy double in the 22-point win, while Scott Drinkwater and Jackson Purdue also came up with some big plays in the bounce-back win. Payten said he was “very proud” of the way his players responded to last week’s 70-point mauling by the Roosters.
“Last week was difficult, but we had to get past it and we did that,” the Cowboys coach said post-game. “It was more about our attitude and effort. Things got a bit wobbly in the middle part of the first half, but we regained control and scrambled when we were down to 12-men and kicked on with it. It was a good response.”