NRL Round 2: Cowboys defeat Newcastle Knights 21-20 in golden point

A Chad Townsend field goal has sealed a remarkable Cowboys comeback, from 12-0 down at halftime to a thrilling golden point win against the Knights.

Jeremiah Nanai’s 76th minute try levelled the scores, and sent it to extra time. Picture: Getty Images

Heilum Luki will undergo assessment to determine the extent of an ankle injury that sidelined the Cowboys backrower less than half an hour into an error-laden game in Townsville that ended as an all-time thriller.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten confirmed Luki had suffered a high ankle sprain and said initial signs weren’t positive.

“He’s wearing a boot, he’ll go for a scan. He didn’t come back so that’s not a good sign. I can’t tell you any more than that because I haven’t spoken to anyone on the medical team,” Payten said.

Adding insult to injury was the first-half performance North Queensland served up to 18,986 people at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, before a stunning turnaround stopped the Knights claiming their first win in the region since 2015.

The Cowboys were a completely different team after the break and outscored Newcastle three tries to one to force golden point extra time, setting up the Chad Townsend game-winner.

Cowboys halfback Chad Townsend celebrates after kicking the winning field goal. Picture: Getty Images

Newcastle were far better than their round 1 showing but still have a lot of room for improvement and need to find a way to get their deadly backline more involved in the game.

Kyle Feldt levelled Matt Bowen as the Cowboys’ all-time top tryscorer when Scott Drinkwater floated a harbour bridge pass to the veteran winger, but the outright title will have to wait until at least next Saturday against the Dragons.

Newcastle’s Jack Hetherington left the game early in the second half after picking up an injury before the break.

“It was a rolled ankle. We were hoping it would get warm (but) it was sort of just bugging him so we got him off,” said Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien.

Adam Elliott scored a double for the Knights. Picture: Getty Images

HOMETOWN HERO LIGHTS UP TOWNSVILLE

Kalyn Ponga almost shrugged off history to give Newcastle its first victory in North Queensland since 2015 after seven straight losses when playing in the region.

The Ignatius Park College graduate had the whole crowd’s attention with every touch and his perfect four goals from four attempts kept the score line ticking over.

The crowd rose with a mighty cheer when the former Cowboy made a shocking unforced error late in the game, opening the door for North Queensland’s late surge.

Ponga finished with a team-high 167m from 22 runs including a try assist, linebreak assist and four broken tackles.

Scott Drinkwater is stopped by the Newcastle Knights defence. Picture: Getty Images

SCRAPPY COWBOYS START SLOW

North Queensland were nothing short of abysmal in the first half in all categories of the game besides goal-line defence – which was also suspect at times.

The Cowboys were held scoreless, made 11 errors and gave away five ruck infringements as they struggled to build any pressure of consistency through the first 40 minutes.

Chad Townsend failed to find touch from a penalty twice, and Newcastle regained both their two line dropouts.

Newcastle lock Adam Elliott scored two tries under the posts but the Knights would have felt like they left points on the park to not have a larger buffer.

It was a stark contrast to round 1 against the Dolphins when they scored five first-half tries to lead 31-12 at the break.

Chad Townsend kicked the winning field goal for the Cowboys. Picture: Getty Images

Kalyn Ponga came up with a crucial error to allow the Cowboys back into the contest. Picture: Getty Images

BACKROWER DEPTH TO COME UNDER SPOTLIGHT

Heilum Luki left the field about 12 minutes from halftime with concerns around his right ankle and did not return.

“He’s gone straight up the tunnel, it looks like a lower leg injury,” Brent Tate said at the time on Fox League.

It was heartbreaking news for Luki considering his extensive injury history, but it was extra concerning for the club after releasing Luciano Leilua before the season began.

The Cowboys celebrated a thrilling golden point win, but it might have come at a cost. Picture: Getty Imagess

If Luki misses any time, the Cowboys may be forced to bring Jack Gosiewski onto the interchange unless they elect to promote Thomas Mikaele and run a third out-and-out middle forward in the bench rotation.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 21 (C. Townsend, K. Feldt, T Dearden, J. Nanai tries; V. Holmes (2) goals, C. Townsend field goal)

NEWCASTLE 20 (A. Elliott (2), Marzhew tries; K. Ponga (4) goals).