Cowboys pull of insane thriller in Queensland derby against Broncos

After a 14-year snub, the North Queensland Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos have delivered a Queensland derby for the ages.

That was one hell of a game.

The North Queensland Cowboys have pulled off one of the great wins in a 19-18 thriller against the Brisbane Broncos on one of the great Queensland derbies.

From Kyle Feldt’s insane put-down in the first six minutes to one of the game to the thriller finish with Valentine Holmes snapping a field goal after a butchered set up, it was a spectacular game in front of a packed Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

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The match up has become one of the most anticipated games north of the border with the fans treated to an incredible spectacle.

With Brisbane entering the game in 14th and the Cowboys in 12th, the game was only on pay TV for the first time since 2006, a sign of how far the mighty clubs have fallen.

In fairness, that finish was pretty must-see TV

— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) May 8, 2021

But it would be hard to know where the clubs were on the ladder after the match, with the game more resembling the 2015 Grand Final than where the clubs are now.

Kyle Feldt said former star Matt Scott called the game “as close as you get to an Origin game during the season”.

Herbie Farnworth was devastated by the loss.

Inside the final five minutes, the Broncos led 18-12 with Jason Taumalolo barging across the line under the posts, levelling the scores at 18-all.

After the match, the Cowboys skipper was thrilled by the result.

“It’s the mentality of the Big Brother, little brother, it’s happened for years,” he said. “It’s good to see the Cowboys reach the level the Broncos have achieved over the past few years. The Broncs have always had the likes of Lockyer and Wally and it’s good to see the Cowboys finally get up there. it’s all about heritage for us. The working class guys up here in North Queensland up against the city slickers.”

It set the stage up for Jake Clifford to kick the winning field goal, but a bobble allowed the Broncos to get up in his face, before he scrambled back to Scott Drinkwater and on to Holmes to kick the winning point.

What a kick from Holmes.

The crowd — and the Cowboys players — went wild, hanging on after a short kick-off as the Broncos tried to bounce back.

Social media was blown away by the match as the sides looked much better than their ladder positions suggested.

Wow man!!
This has been a Qld derby for the ages💯💯
Good to see big Hulk back to his damaging running best!!
Broncos showing plenty of backbone. Top shelf footy #NRLCowboysBroncos

— Ashton Sims (@ashtonsims26) May 8, 2021

What a thriller. This is consistently the best contest in the NRL. #NRLCowboysBroncos

— Paul Syvret (@PSyvret) May 8, 2021

This is like Brisbane of old. Cracker game of footy. #NRLCowboysBroncos

— Paul Syvret (@PSyvret) May 8, 2021

What a great game of rugby league #nrlCowboysBroncos

— BUZZ ROTHFIELD (@BuzzRothfield) May 8, 2021

Broncos coach was disappointed by the result but said his team was the better team “for 79 minutes of the game we were the better team”.

Originally published as Cowboys pull of insane thriller in Queensland derby against Broncos