Canterbury Bulldogs beat North Queensland Cowboys in NRL Round 13

BEN Barba left under-fire Cowboys coach Neil Henry fighting to save his job after North Queensland crashed to a fifth consecutive loss.

BESIEGED coach Neil Henry is fighting to save his job after the Cowboys crashed to their fifth consecutive loss against a resurgent Canterbury in Townsville last night.

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The Bulldogs produced a stirring fightback to prevail 36-26, scoring four second-half tries to post 24 unanswered points and overturn a 20-12 deficit after 54 minutes.

Last year's grand finalists are now in the top eight after three successive wins, but the post-match spotlight was squarely on Henry after the Cowboys' latest capitulation.

With injured duo Johnathan Thurston (groin) and Matt Bowen (knee) sidelined, the Cowboys battled bravely, but imploded in the final quarter as NSW rookie Josh Reynolds inspired a Bulldogs revival.

A fortnight ago, a Sydney report claimed Henry had two weeks to prove his worth.

Cowboys officialdom have denied the rumours, but North Queensland have since lost both games and are now equal last with a 4-9 win-loss record.

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Sacking Henry mid-season would be a brave call, but his position is becoming untenable with every loss. The Cowboys, who were considered title contenders in pre-season, are now fighting to avoid the spoon.

Asked if he was feeling the heat, pragmatic Henry said: "What can you do? I deflect it and move on.

"We are all in the same boat, we have high expectations and the team is not achieving those at the moment. The accountability ultimately rests with the head coach and I take the responsibility there and we move on.

"It's part of the territory.

"We are under-performing. We are hurting.

"We are disappointed, but it doesn't mean we train any less hard or don't prepare.

"I can't let that be a distraction to my work."

Asked if he was comforted by pre-game assurances from Cowboys boss Peter Jourdain that Henry was not in the firing line, the coach was unequivocal.

"The board has been on the record, Peter Jourdain has said that already. I feel as comfortable as I take his word," he said with a wry grin.

James Tamou

Missing Thurston, who together with fiancee Samantha was yesterday celebrating the birth of the couple's daughter, the Cowboys were left to rue a nightmare final quarter.

With scores locked at 12-all at halftime, a 42nd minute try to fullback Clint Greenshields propelled the home side to a handy 20-12 lead.

But the Bulldogs powered home with tries to Mitch Brown (54th minute), Tony Williams (65th), Greg Eastwood (72nd) and Trent Hodkinson (76th) breaking the Cowboys' hearts.

To compound their plight, Thurston's replacement, Michael Morgan, left the field in the second half with a shoulder injury.

Cowboys co-captain Matt Scott said the players, not Henry, were at fault for the side's incomprehensible slide into the NRL cellar.

"There has to be a certain amount of accountability," he said.

"It comes back to the players, that comes back to me as captain, it is a club focus. The nature of the beast is the head coach does cop the pressure externally, but at the moment you can't blame Neil for
what happened out there.

Antonio Winterstein

"It's going to be tough to make the finals.

We are putting ourselves in a position to win games ... but we just need to find that extra five per cent."

The Cowboys face a quick turnaround with their next assignment against the Dragons in Wollongong on Friday night.

BULLDOGS 36 (B Barba 2 M Brown G Eastwood T Hodkinson T Williams tries T Hodkinson 6 goals) NORTH QUEENSLAND 26 (C Greenshields D Johnson R Lui B Tate tries R Lui 5 goals) at 1300SMILES Stadium. Referees: Matt Cecchin, Adam Gee. Crowd: 12,775