The Cowboys' mid-season resurgence remains in full swing after they beat the Sea Eagles 19-8 on Saturday night for their fifth win on the trot.
In a performance which was far from perfect with ball in hand, North Queensland were immense in defence, handling long periods of goal-line pressure from Manly to claim their third away win of 2023.
Fullback Scott Drinkwater continued his strong run of form, scoring his fifth try in four games and contributing 203 metres in running, while halves Chad Townsend and Tom Dearden ultimately managed the big moments better than their opposite numbers.
It had started in frustrating fashion for the visitors, who had an early Dearden try ruled out by the Bunker due to a knock on in the lead up, before Semi Valemei put a foot into touch on his way to a diving effort in the corner.
Holmes throws the kitchen at Olakau'atu
The Sea Eagles then took their opportunity on 15 minutes through Dean Matterson – who had come on for his NRL debut minutes earlier when Reuben Garrick was sent for a HIA – when he found himself with the ball out wide after Jason Saab beat the Cowboys to a bomb.
But North Queensland soon found their rhythm and the impact was devastating for Manly, with Valentine Holmes busting the line open to set up Reuben Cotter, before a late ball from Tom Dearden sent Jeremiah Nanai over.
Can't catch Cotter
Townsend hit a field goal in the dying seconds to give his side a 13-4 advantage at the break and the Cowboys then dodged a bullet early in the second half when a Garrick try was rubbed out due to a knock on.
What looked at first to be a third try for North Queensland – after Jason Taumalolo barged over – ended up being a Manly penalty for a ruck infringement, and on the very next set the hosts went the full length of the field to cross through Brad Parker on 47 minutes.
Parker ignites the home crowd
A Murray Taulagi try claim with 14 to play was ruled out on account of double movement, but it didn't matter in the end as Todd Payten's men held on to 10th win of the year.
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Match Snapshot
- The Cowboys have now scored 196 points and leaked just 37 in their past four games.
- Reuben Garrick left the field for a HIA on 12 minutes after being hit by an accidental elbow from Coen Hess. He passed the assessment and returned 15 minutes from the break.
- Garrick was also placed on report for a possible trip in the 28th minute.
- North Queensland's back five all ran for over 100 metres, with Scott Drinkwater and Semi Valemei each going over 200.
- Drinkwater's second-half try was his fifth in his last four games.
- Manly gave away just one penalty through the 80 minutes.
Cowboys stay hydrated
Play of the Game
Four minutes into his NRL debut off the bench, Dean Matterson got over the line to open the scoring for the Sea Eagles after the Cowboys failed to deal with a bomb from Daly Cherry-Evans. The 25-year-old followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Eels player Ryan Matterson, who scored on debut himself back in 2016.
Matterson on debut
What They Said
"It's a hard place to win. We showed a fair bit of character at different moments throughout that second half. In the end our [defence] held strong, so that's pleasing. Every win is important for where we sit on the ladder and I am glad that we have continued to play the same style that we started five weeks ago." – Cowboys coach Todd Payten.
Cowboys: Round 20
"Some of our execution [was clunky], there's no excuses, we just weren't accurate with what we wanted to do tonight. It was a really gritty game – 19-8, I think they'd scored 180 odd points the last couple of weeks – so we knew we had to be good defensively. The disappointing thing was the three tries they did score were individual system errors." – Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold.
Sea Eagles: Round 20
What's Next
The Sea Eagles enjoy an eight-day turnaround before taking on the Sharks at PointsBet Stadium on Sunday, while North Queensland head back home to host the Eels on Saturday at Queensland Country Bank Stadium. The Cowboys are set to be boosted by the return of Heilum Luki, who has been out since Round 16 with a facial fracture.