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Coach Paul Green believes North Queensland dealt well with the pressure of being NRL premiers.But they are the latest side to discover how hard it is to win back-to-back premierships after they were dumped out of the title race by Cronulla.The Cowboys made their way through to the grand final last year after losing in the first week of the playoffs.However, they couldnt repeat that feat this year after losing to Melbourne in week on and defeating Brisbane last week.No team has won successive titles in the NRL era. Brisbane were the last side to manage the feat in a united competition in 1992-93.We felt how hard that was at different times through the year, Green saidTeams rarely played poorly against us. That takes a fair bit out of you. Its not just the 17 or 19 players, you need a few more than that to play consistently well throughout the year.I thought we coped pretty well with that. We certainly gave ourselves a shot, making the preliminary final tonight. When youve been through it and youve achieved it you know what it takes. Weve got to wait 12 months for it too. Thats pretty tough.Green said the Cowboys will take motivation from their preliminary finals exit, 32-20 to the Sharks at Allianz Stadium on Friday into next year.This year was probably an opportunity lost, Green saidYouve got to work so hard to give yourself a chance that we had tonight. Thats probably the tough thing.The disappointment were feeling at the moment were going to need to hang on to that and keep the fire in the belly for next week.Cowboys prop James Tamou said staying hungry for another title against teams that hadnt won was a challenge.The fire burns a lot more with teams that havent been there yet or might have got kicked out last year, Tamou said.They come with a bit more energy and that Im guessing. We wanted to be in it, but execution has let us down.We knew from the start we would have a target on our heads and it was up to us to step it up. Some patches it was a bit of a rollercoaster up and down through the air. It was up to us to do what we wanted to do. To come this far is obviously a great achievement but not what we wanted.Phil Niekro Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Grant Dayton Braves Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. https://www.cheapbraves.com/193o-francisco-cervelli-jersey-braves.html . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Ender Inciarte Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Bob Uecker Braves Jersey . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea.ROSARITO, Mexico -- Former world champion Antonio Margarito reached another milestone Saturday in his comeback as he beat fellow Mexican Ramon Alvarez by split decision in the Baja California Center.Margarito (40-8, 27 KOs) dropped Alvarez (23-5-2, 15 KOs), the brother of lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, in the eighth round as he showed he can still be a force to be reckoned with after being out of the ring for more than four years.Scorecards from two judges favored Margarito 97-92. A third judge saw the fight in favor of Alvarez 95-94.Alvarez took the offensive in the second round with jabs, trying to keep Margarito at a distance and hit punches to the lower body. At a distance, Alvarez was more consistent against Margarito, who didnt throw many punches.The 30-year-old Alvarez kept Margarito at bay with straight punches and uppercuts before the Tijuana native started counterpunching and toook Alvarez to the ropes.ddddddddddddMargaritos jab took over in the fifth round, sending Alvarez to the ropes while avoiding his counterpunching. From the sixth round on, Margarito kept the pressure coming, taking Alvarez off his fight plan and shrugging off his opponents intent to control the rhythm of the fight.Margaritos physical condition took over in the eighth round, and he dropped Alvarez with a straight right. Alvarez tried to rebound in the final two rounds, hitting a left hook that shook Margarito, but it was not enough to change the cards in his favor.After retiring in 2011, Margarito, 38, returned to the ring in March, winning a unanimous decision over Jorge Paez Jr. He has been vocal about fighting in the United States and getting another shot at a world title. ' ' '