North Queensland Cowboys have beaten the Brisbane Broncos 31-20 in Townsville

IN one of the most remarkable performances in NRL history, North Queensland produced a 92 per cent completion rate to sink the Broncos.

NRL Rd 10 - Cowboys v Broncos

MICHAEL Morgan was near perfect. And so were the Cowboys.

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, North Queensland produced a stunning 92 per cent completion rate to sink the Broncos 31-20 in a pulsating derby in Townsville.

And if anyone personified flawlessness, it was Morgan, who submitted an irresistible claim for a shock Origin debut with a three-try rout to fire the Cowboys to the equal premiership lead.

Michael Morgan celebrates with Johnathan Thurston after scoring a try.

With the Maroons team for Origin I named on Tuesday, Morgan is slicing and dicing at the right time. Daly Cherry-Evans has the inside running for the No. 14 jumper, but Morgan warrants serious consideration after a hat-trick that underlined his game-breaking gifts.

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED: Cowboys v Broncos

For years, the code has marvelled at the talismanic brilliance of Johnathan Thurston. Now he has a partner-in-crime in Morgan, who scored tries in the 21st, 69th and 77th minutes to reignite the Cowboys after Brisbane shot to a 12-0 lead inside 18 minutes.

Jack Reed is tackled by the Cowboys defence. Picture: Evan Morgan

Morgan was ably supported by prop James Tamou, who produced his best game in three years, charging for a whopping 193 metres to exorcise the demons from neck surgery.

It would take a brave selection panel to blood Morgan in Origin I but Maroons ace Thurston believes his scrumbase partner should be in the frame.

“He is pushing all the right buttons now,” Thurston said. “It’s a decision for Mal and the selectors to make, but he wouldn’t look out of place there.

Gavin Cooper scores a try.

“He can cover a lot of positions there, he’s an ideal utility player, he can play on an edge, he gives us that utility value and I’m sure he will be in Mal’s plans in the future.”

If Morgan was outstanding, the Cowboys, as a side, were statistically superb, completing 34 of 37 sets to choke the life out of a Broncos side that tackled tirelessly.

Incredibly, the Broncos finished with 303 tackles to North Queensland’s 197. In the dying stages, with scores locked 20-20, the Cowboys simply had more energy, Morgan delivering the knockout blow three minutes from time to give Maroons selectors a welcome migraine.

“He was great for us again,” said Cowboys coach Paul Green of Morgan, who scored two tries against the Bulldogs last week.

Darius Boyd on the attack.

“Spending that time at fullback has made him a better halves option for us.

“It was a good night, he had to tough it out because he hurt his ankle, but it showed some character.

“I’m certainly a lot happier with this performance than our round three game (when they lost to the Broncos).

“I felt we controlled the game reasonably well. We had some defensive errors but they were certainly fixable.”

Titles aren’t won in May, but games like this can do wonders for a side’s psychology. In round three, Brisbane taught the Cowboys a lesson in execution and early on they provided an exhibition in control, tempo and cohesion.

James Tamou is tackled by the Broncos defence.

Rolling at 12-0, it should have been the impetus for a Broncos carve-up. But unforced errors are momentum killers in the modern game and when Adam Blair inexplicably knocked on from the kick restart, the Cowboys had the reprieve they craved.

“That error opened the window of opportunity for them and they grabbed it,” Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said.

“I’m not disappointed actually. Little things like that really cost us, at different stages it cost us 14 points and they didn’t turn anything over.”

NORTH QUEENSLAND 31 (M Morgan 3 G Cooper E Lowe tries J Thurston 5 goals L Coote field goal) bt BRISBANE 20 (L Maranta 2 J Kahu tries C Parker 4 goals) at 1300SMILES Stadium. Referee: Jared Maxwell, Chris James. Crowd: 24,531