Hess, Cowboys adept at dodging killer blows

THE Cowboys were less than 20 minutes away from booking holidays for September. Not once, but twice.

Back rower Coen Hess was nervously watching the DragonsBulldogs game in round 26, wondering whether he should pack his training bag or crack open a beer.

The Dragons led 20- 14 after 63 minutes, but Bulldogs tries to Aiden Tolman and Michael Lichaa allowed the Cowboys to squeeze into eighth.

“We weren’t too sure what we were doing the following day, obviously luck went our way and we’re here now,” Hess said.

“We watched it at one of the boys’ houses, obviously we were cheering for the Bulldogs.

“I guess it felt like that ( a second chance), but in saying that all our hard work paid off at that point.

“It goes to show how important games are. Because the competition is so tight, getting as many wins as we could got us into that position.”

What has slipped under the radar is the Cowboys finals hopes were perilously close to being knocked out the week before at Campbelltown.

Down 14- 6 in the 65th minute, two quick tries to winger Kyle Feldt helped spark the Cowboys to a 22- 14 comeback win.

“We always knew if we kept working hard we’d be in with a shot,” Cowboys back rower Ethan Lowe said.

“To get another game away from a grand final is pretty exciting.”

Now just 80 minutes from a grand final, Cowboys captain Gavin Cooper said the doubters are starting to believe. No team has won the grand final from outside the top four in the NRL era, while Parramatta in 2009 are the only team to make the decider from eighth.

“We do have a lot of true believers who think we can do something special in North Queensland, but the ones sitting on the fence who thought maybe not without the boys ( Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott), I think we’re changing their minds.”