North Queenslands NRL premiership defence wasnt just ended by Cronulla - it was obliterated.Friday nights score of 32-20 did more than flatter the Cowboys as they ran in three consolation tries in the final 10 minutes to save some face.After surviving an extra-time thriller against Brisbane last week, many questioned if they would have enough in the tank to beat Cronulla if it went to the dying stages.But the Allianz Stadium contest barely lasted that long.The Cowboys looked like a heavyweight boxer trying to hang in for the final bell at the end of the 12th round.The only problem was, there was still the best part of 75 minutes to go.Fullback Lachlan Coote knocked on with his first kick return, and by the end of the first half-hour, North Queensland had completed only four sets.In a two-minute period that summarised the match, Johnathan Thurston was put on his backside by a rampaging Valentine Holmes on a kick return in the 39th minute.A moment later, the Sharks ended the set by rag-dolling the Cowboys co-captain back into his own goal to force a line dropout.The halftime siren went and the Cowboys were saved of defending an extra set, but by then the Cowboys had conceded double the running metres of Cronulla, made an extra 49 tackles and had just 35 per cent of the ball.Its extremely hard when you keep shooting yourself in the foot, Thurston said.It doesnt matter whether youre playing normal games or semi-final games you need to be playing your best footy and we were far from our best tonight.We just kept turning the ball over and we couldnt transition from defending well into attack and our fifth tackle options werent great, we didnt have too many of them.Coote rebounded almost immediately after halftime when he scored off a fumbled kick, but within 15 minutes the Sharks had landed the knockout blows.First through Luke Lewis, and then by James Maloney in the next set to put an end to their premiership defence.Then Maloney scored again, as the tired Cowboys defences missed tackle count reached 37.It just took too much out of us defending in the first half, Thurston said.We just couldnt transition into attack because we were just too zapped.And with it ended their shot at becoming the first team since Brisbane in 1992-93 to win back-to-back premierships in a unified competition.Discount Air Max . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Cheap Authentic Air Max . The Browns coaching search remains incomplete. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Wholesale Air Max . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U.ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- As successful as Michigan has been under John Beilein, the Wolverines have also become a bit predictable.Theyll shoot well from the perimeter, and theyre an unselfish team thats difficult to guard because of their superior precision and spacing. On defense, they avoid fouling and dont force many turnovers -- and their opponents are often all too comfortable at that end of the court.This season, Beilein is hoping to correct some of those defensive problems.New assistant Billy Donlon, who joined the Michigan staff this offseason after a six-year run as head coach at Wright State, is the man Beilein is turning to for defensive expertise. The Wolverines barely made the NCAA Tournament last season but return plenty of experience -- and they could certainly take a big step forward in 2016-17 if Donlon can help them become a stingier group.I am giving him a lot of responsibility, Beilein said at media day Monday. My eye, and the detail that we do in offense, I think hes got a similar eye for defense, and were trying to combine that without confusing everybody.When Michigan reached the NCAA title game in 2013, the Wolverines ranked No. 1 in the nation in KenPom.coms offensive efficiency stat. They were No. 3 the following season, when they went to the Elite Eight.Defensively, its been a different story. Michigan was 88th in 2014, 99th in 2015 and 95th last season. Thats bad enough to be a real problem in seasons when the offense is merely good and not outstanding.You cant really move the offensive needle, Donlon said. I think the players are wanting to also move the defensive needle some, and I think they recognize if we do that, what could happen.Michigan is rarely aggressive on the offensive boards, and its defensive problems have only fueled the criticism that comes with being more of a finesse team.We know people like to call us soft, senior Zak Irvin said.ddddddddddddIt is a mindset to be tough. Weve got to do the gritty things, and were working on that each day.One of the trademarks of Michigans defense has been a lack of fouling. Many coaches would be happy with that, but its fair to wonder if the Wolverines have been operating at too much of an extreme. Michigan averaged 15.5 fouls a game last season. Donlons Wright State team averaged 22.Could Michigan benefit from a little more aggressiveness on defense, even if it leads to more fouls?You look at some of our guys stats, some guys didnt average two fouls a game, so thats a little bit too cautious, Beilein said. Somehow weve got to take Bills defense where they fouled more, and still stay out of the one-and-one and still keep our best players on the floor.Beileins program isnt about to undergo any sort of overhaul. His accomplishments at Michigan include the Final Four in 2013, as well as Big Ten titles in 2012 and 2014. But the last couple seasons have been more of a struggle, thanks in part to injuries to some key players. The Wolverines missed the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and were eliminated in the round of 64 last year.He had to shake up his staff a bit this offseason because Bacari Alexander was hired to lead the Detroit Titans and Wisconsin-Milwaukee hired LaVall Jordan.In Donlon, Beilein hopes hes found someone who can help the Wolverines in an area where theyve been lacking.He is a head coach that is now as the assistant coach, Beilein said. Hes got a lot of the head coach qualities already, where hes strong with his command. ... I can tell by our kids eyes, they are learning from him, they love listening to him.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '