THURSTON KEEPS COWBOYS ALIVE
NORTH Queensland have made the most of having Johnathan Thurston during State of Origin by scoring a sorely needed 26-12 NRL win over Manly.
Thurston had previously never been available before an Origin match in his Cowboys career, but played a hand in three of their four tries to help snap a worrying three-game losing streak.
His night was more than matched by Jason Taumalolo, who carried the Cowboys with 268 metres, 12 tackle busts and a try in a heroic 80-minute performance in the absence of a number of their forwards.
The Cowboys had six players either on Origin duty, injured, or suspended. Manly, who were without the Trbojevic brothers, appeared set for a comeback when Brian Kelly scurried over to reduce an eight-point halftime deficit to four with the first try after resumption.
But the visitors made the most of a wasteful Sea Eagles side in the second half, with Antonio Winterstein completing his double and then Enari Tuala crossing in the space of four minutes.
The win ends a heartbreaking fortnight for the Cowboys, who had fallen to one- point losses in backto-back weeks, but now moves them to within six points of the top eight.