After wild scenes at the Townsville airport before and after the victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs, the Cowboys played at home against the Broncos amid scenes of hysteria and adulation never before experienced as the region fully supported their team. After defeating the Broncos, they travelled to Sydney to meet eventual grand finalists Sydney Roosters and came within seconds of winning a grand final berth. Losing the preliminary final by just 16–19, the Cowboys had come of age in 2004. Apart from going within a match of a grand final appearance, the club also maintained its proud record of producing representative players. Significantly the 2004 Cowboys had a good away match record, another sign of the growing success of the club.