Chad Townsend has rescued the Cowboys with a field goal in golden point to deliver a dramatic win over the Knights in Townsville.
The halfback slammed his kick through the posts at the first opportunity to make it 21-20, the first time that his side had led on the night, in the 82nd minute.
The Knights will be sitting in the sheds wondering how they didn’t win. Their dominance in the first half was total and should resulted in an unassailable lead, before leading again by more than a converted try going into the final quarter.
“I’m really proud of them in terms of turning around a performance in seven days,” said Adam O’Brien.
“There’s no doubt there’s some things that we need to get a whole lot better and smarter at.”
North Queensland were left sweating on the fitness of Heilum Luki, who left with an injury to his left ankle, and that is just one of their issues.
There were some positives for Todd Payten, not least that his side won and showed spirit to stay in the game and fight back, but the list of negatives will also be lengthy.
“I wouldn’t say we deserved to win,” he told the post-match presser.
“But we found a way and in 10, 12 weeks no one really remembers how you won at the start of the year. When it mattered, we got it done but we didn’t play well.”
Their lack of control, discipline and composure were there for all to see for much of the game and, but for similar traits being found in their opponents, this could have been a heavy defeat.
The quality of the finish belied what was, at times, a very poor quality game.
Val Holmes should have won it in regulation but sent a conversion wide, compounding a horror night that saw him go 2/5 from the tee.
The Cowboys put in one of the all time worst first halves: they made 12 errors, gave away eight combined infringements, missed touch twice from penalties and, when they had their only shot at points, Holmes sent his kick wide.
It wasn’t lucky that they got out just 12-0 down at the break – it was a minor miracle.
Newcastle weren’t at their best either and lumbered over their attack, though got their rewards eventually through weight of pressure and possession.
Adam Elliott, hardly a tryscoring machine, scored both tries and the second, from an equally unlikely source of creativity in Hetherington, was softer than soft.
Payten read the riot act at half time and got an immediate response.
Within five minutes of the restart, North Queensland were just two points behind. Feldt was at the heart of both their scores, producing a miracle offload for Chad Townsend for the first and scoring the second himself to level the club record.
Newcastle struck back almost instantly through Greg Marzhew, and added a penalty goal from a failed short dropout that extended the lead to 18-0.
Tom Dearden set up the grandstand finish and Jeremiah Nanai looked to have sealed it, only for Holmes to fluff his lines again with a simple kick.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Hammer has been superb in Origin.
Abhi Beckert
Roar Rookie
I disagree. Cowboys defended well – sure they let some points through but that’s what happens when the other team spends that long on your try line. The cowboys problems early game were around dropping the ball, failing to find touch, forward passes, etc etc. Later on they got that under control but were heavily fatigued.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
If teams want to have 13 in their defensive line, that's fair enough, but there are still places where guys can be hidden. First defender off the ruck is not one of them.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
How much did he slip Luki , he missed him just as bad/ worse, yet poor old Drinky’s wearing the lot.
NQR
Roar Rookie
Hammer is a terrific 1 on 1 defender. Amazing Best and Laybutt cancelled each other out defensively. Holmes and Gagai ?
NQR
Roar Rookie
Probably worded that wrong LOL. An extra 10-15m in kicking ability can be significant. An extra 1 or 2 seconds of hang time can give your kick chase 10 to 15m. It’s a bit like running 100m in 10sec to doing it in 12sec opinion. Having a player coming down on you when catching the ball is significantly more difficult than no one around.
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
Yes i agree there should be an improvement in Nanai. Hopefully it will happen very soon. Cant see Townsend being the halfback for the year unless he shows some improvement too
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I honestly don't know. Modern FBs often play in the line when defending near the try line but for him to be first defender off the ruck is inviting a big forward to run straight at him. Two weeks in and two trys conceded. Same again next week ?
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
I agree. Townsend has had a good career but doesnt really offer much to the Cowboys anymore so i think the other options are better
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I do try to forgive Miah a lot because of his age but his reads in Defence last year were often poor and it doesn't seem to have improved. I am not writing off his defence as he can still be taught but surely we should be seeing some improvement after a full off-season.?
Sportstragic
Roar Rookie
The thing i think we sometimes forget with Nanai is that he has just turned 21. He has already had a fantastic career and is super talented but still has a lot to learn still in defense. Townsend has no excuses. He has peaked and is at the end of his career. 2 missed kicks for touch was very disappointing. I would be happy to give Clifford a go to see if his game has improved in England. And yes you are right with Drinkwater. Its about commitment. 1 of the best attacking fullbacks in the game but defensively….
mushi
Roar Guru
10-15 metres is a lot of extra height. That's a 4 to 5 storey building
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
Jimmy, why is he playing in the main defensive line in such a key role, behind the ruck? He's got to be a target from now on.
NQR
Roar Rookie
Chad hasn’t got a big kick on him. He’s got a very consistent average kick. Drinkwater is inconsistent and Dearden ordinary under pressure. If Chad got his kicks 10-15m higher the pressure and kick chase would be massively improved. Clifford has a massive boot and could get this happening. It’s actually a weapon that could add plenty to the Cowboys game. Chad had a poor season last year. Last night was horrible? He’s living on reputation with a better option on the sideline IMO.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
He has missed touch quite a few times at the Cows. Seriously , give it to Drinkwater or Val . It's a dumb error that shouod be a once in a lifetime thing.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Onya mate as he waves them through. I seriously don't see him ever put his body in front. Lockyer missed his fair share of tackles but he always put his body on the line . When you get in front there is some chance of stopping them when you wave them through none.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Yeah , that side was a weakness last year as well. They don't work well together. TOMMY and the other back rower , usually do work well. I think it's just that Tommy is such a confident defender and so there is no hesitation, We haveto sort out Chads side soon . It's way too easy through that gate,
NQR
Roar Rookie
These poor handling error ridden games have regularly occurred early season in Townsville? From a Cowboy’s perspective a win is a win. At this time of the year that’s extremely important there is plenty of time to improve. I don’t think I’ve seen so many first halve errors on play 1? You do that and you put incredible pressure on yourself defensively. Drinkwater hasn’t improved defensively and the Cowboys have a 12 man defence. Townsend is there for on field management ( kicking and organising) ? So many of Chad’s kicks are pop gun with outside backs unable to apply pressure? 3 good kicks 3 tries? Feldt, Nanai, Taulagi, Holmes are top shelf weapons off attacking kicks? Your team is struggling to maintain possession and get down the other end in hot humid conditions and you fail to get out a penalty into touch because you have a pop gun kick. Taumalolo is really struggling and Luki getting hurt added to the fatigue issues. Something the Cowboys struggle with is gamesmanship. I’m talking the difference between staying down when hit late or high or milking. They would have to be bottom 2 in this department outside of Chad and Feldt who takes the whole responsibility of this on his own shoulders. Panthers, Raiders, Souths, Storm and even the Warriors are very well versed in this area.
Nat
Roar Guru
Yep, sometimes you have to win ugly. I would be more concerned if I was AOB than Payten. NQ could barely play worse and brought the Knights down to their level. Val couldn't catch or kick. I'm not sure Laybutt saw the ball outside of yardage work. Being able to replace Luki with a decent backrower was a real bonus but I reckon Finefeuiaki's future is in the middle when he fills out. The Knights should have put 24 in the first half and finished it there but you suspected 12 wasn't going to be enough by the break.
Nat
Roar Guru
It was obvious that the Knights were seeking out Nanai and Chad in defence to the (what appeared) disruption to an organised set.