COWBOYS’ FINALS RUN BACK ON TRACK
COWBOYS FINISH FAST TO STEADY FINALS HOPES
COWBOYS winger Kyle Feldt put two early errors out of his mind to inspire a crucial 22- 14 comeback victory over Wests Tigers in Sydney last night.
The Cowboys had lost four in a row leading into the clash at Campbelltown and their breakthrough win may have sealed the 2015 premiers a finals berth. Feldt dropped the ball in the opening minutes but he more than made amends with two late tries in quick succession to help the Cowboys erase a 14- 6 deficit in the second half.
KYLE Feldt, take a bow.
The Cowboys winger put two early errors out of his mind to inspire a come- from- behind 22- 14 win over Wests Tigers at Campbelltown last night which may have sealed a finals berth.
Feldt spilled his lollies twice in the opening minutes but more than made amends with two late tries to lift the Cowboys off the canvas.
Down 14- 6 with 15 minutes to go seventh- placed North Queensland, staring at a fifth straight loss and their season going down the toilet, found the spark they needed through the 25- year- old flyer.
After Feldt crossed out wide to bridge the gap to 14- 10 the Cowboys hit the front 16- 14 just moments later when a superb grubber from halfback Michael Morgan found him for his second under the posts.
With five minutes remaining a banana kick infield from Granville found Morgan, also hugely influential lately, for the match winner.
If Penrith beats St George Illawarra tomorrow the Cowboys will have booked their place in September, regardless of how they fare in Thursday’s blockbuster against Brisbane.
It was only North Queensland’s second win against the Tigers in Sydney since 2005, and it could not have been more timely.
The result soured the Campbelltown farewell of Tigers duo James Tedesco and Aaron Woods before they join the Roosters and Canterbury respectively next year.
Cowboys five- eighth Te Maire Martin had his best game for the club since shifting from Penrith and was busy throughout.
After a scrappy opening from both sides the Tigers opened the scoring after 23 minutes when skipper Woods sold a dummy to Jason Taumalolo to stroll over.
But just three minutes later former Tiger Martin responded with a try of his own after Taumalolo put him on the front foot with a quick play the ball close to the try line.
Five minutes before the break the Tigers restored their lead 10- 6 when back rower Josh Aloiai got Martin one- on- one close to the line and ran over the five- eighth to score.
Eight minutes into the second half the Cowboys twice came close to levelling scores. Gavin Cooper was held up by three Tigers running off a Martin short ball, while Jake Granville’s grubber from dummy half close to the try line was just too strong for Antonio Winterstein.
On the hour mark the Tigers found a third try after Cowboys back rower Ethan Lowe’s recent defensive issues continued when he missed a tackle on Jack Littlejohn one on one, who passed to winger Malakiai Watene- Zelezniak to extend the lead to 14- 6.
But the Cowboys late blitzkrieg set the stage for another mouth- watering showdown against the Broncos, hurting after being humiliated by the Eels, in the final round.